MARGAO: The Curtorim Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco has complained that harassment to the fresh applicants as well as existing beneficiaries of Griha Aadhar (GA) scheme has continued even though it is at a time of a COVID-19 pandemic.
The Opposition MLA complained that for the past four months, through letters to the State government, he has asked the authorities concerned to stop sending messages to fresh GA scheme applicants for submitting fresh income certificates from mamlatdar office till the end of the pandemic.
“Agonisingly, the latest is both, existing beneficiaries as well as fresh applicant of Griha Aadhar scheme are now being taken for a ride, when they are visiting mamlatadar’s office, they are being turned back and have been asked to collect the income certificate from the municipality or from panchayat wherever it is applicable” said Lourenco.
“However, many of the local bodies be it the municipality or the panchayat are unaware of the said changes in the issuance of income certificate. And to top it all, on October 26, 2020, there was a beeline of both existing beneficiaries and fresh applicants of Griha Aadhar at the Margao Municipal Council to collect income certificates. Sadly all norms of social distancing went for a toss and that too when Goa has already lost 585 people due to COVID,” said Reginaldo.
Reginaldo said that incidentally Goa accounts for around 1,52,000 existing beneficiaries of GA scheme.
In view of this change it is given to understand that a notification has been issued by the State Women and Child Development Department, which is published in the official government gazette, which states that for issuance of GA income certificate, its powers now are vested back to the panchayats and municipalities.
He requested the government to first extend the deadline from the present October 31 to November 30, 2020 for collecting income certificates to GA for fresh applicants and for existing beneficiaries from the panchayat or municipality wherever applicable according to the respective jurisdiction.
“Secondly, it is important that this notification of collecting income certificates for fresh applicants or existing beneficiaries has to be sent to the municipalities and panchayats so that these local bodies are made aware of the recent change in issuance of income certificate to Griha Aadhar” he requested.
