He was speaking as the chief guest at a function to celebrate the 15th successful year of the Dayanand Samajik Suraksha Yojana (DSSY) at Campal on Friday. Around 120 beneficiaries of the scheme from across the State were felicitated by Parrikar and other dignitaries.
Parrikar stated that the DSSY ha proved to be a boon for senior citizens; it had enhanced their respect and responsibility in their families and helped economically weak families to take care of their aged members. He added that around 96,000 people have availed of the scheme.
On the occasion, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar stated that the ideal society is one where senior citizens are well-treated and respected. He continued, “DSSY was formulated with the sole objective of extending financial assistance to aged people. This scheme, which was started with Rs 500, has been enhanced to Rs 2000. This scheme has no alternative and it will successfully continue hereafter.”
Social Welfare Minister Mahadev Naik stated that Goa is the only state that has implemented schemes like DSSY. He added, “The government incurs about Rs 27 crore per month on this scheme. It has also extended this scheme to traditional rural artisans and the number of beneficiaries has increased to 1, 36,000.”
