Ulhasnagar civic body launches Rs 6,000 yearly aid for girl students of Classes 7 to 12

The Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation has launched a new scheme so that girls' education does not stop for want of money. The scheme is called the 'Jyoti Kalani Ladki Vidyarthini Yojana'. It will run on the lines of the 'Ladki Bahin' scheme, and schoolgirls will receive direct financial assistance under it.

The initiative is said to have begun from the vision of MP Shrikant Shinde.

Under the scheme, eligible girls studying in Classes 7 to 12 will be given Rs 6,000 a year. That works out to about Rs 500 a month. The money can be used for school supplies, notebooks and textbooks, and other big and small expenses related to studies.

The aim of the scheme is to promote girls' education and also to ease the financial burden on their families, it has been stated.

So far, 19,000 girls have been registered for the scheme. It will also affect the municipal corporation's budget. According to available information, an expenditure of about Rs 9 crore 87 thousand has been mentioned for the scheme.

The scheme was inaugurated from the public relations office of MP Shrikant Shinde. Ulhasnagar Mayor Ashwini Nikam announced it at a press conference.

Corporators and the deputy mayor of the BJP, an ally in the Mahayuti, were not present at the event. Talk of internal differences between the Shiv Sena and the BJP has since begun in political circles. However, the actual reason for their absence is not yet clear.

The scheme has been announced, but students and their parents have many questions. Everyone is watching for the eligibility conditions, how to fill in the application, which documents will be needed and when the money will actually be paid. The application process will become clear only after the municipal corporation issues official guidelines.

On the whole, this initiative to give financial help for girls' education could prove important. But its success depends on the money arriving on time and the help actually reaching every eligible girl.