The Mizoram government has launched the state’s flagship programme – Socio-Economic Development Policy (SEDP) – to provide direct monetary assistance to 60,000 household families.
The scheme will be implemented by nine departments in coordination with 11 district administrations and will encompass more than 70 different livelihood avenues.
Launching the scheme, Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Friday said the scheme will cover 60,000 beneficiaries, 1,500 each from 40 assembly constituencies.
The beneficiaries will be provided with monetary assistance to the tune of Rs 50,000 each to supplement their ongoing economic activities or to start the fresh one during the current fiscal, he said.
The beneficiaries will be given Rs 25,000 in the first installment, which will be credited to their bank accounts, he said.
The CM said his government has allocated more than Rs 300 crore for the implementation of family oriented programme of the SEDP in the current fiscal despite the state losing over Rs 3,000 crores in terms of revenue grants, other central assistances and other financial devolutions due to the pandemic.
The chief minister pointed out that implementation of the scheme would be executed as per the financial resource of the state because of financial constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He handed over bank cheques amounting to Rs 152.99 crore to 9 implementing departments at the launch of the scheme.
The SEDP is the flagship programme of the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), which aims at bringing sustainable development by accelerating progress in key sectors through exploration and judicious use of resources and maintaining equality and equity among the citizens.
Under this policy, the government was initially planning to provide monetary assistance to the tune of not less than Rs 3 lakh to beneficiaries to start projects (trades) of their choice for sustainable development and the economic uplift of household families.
The flagship programme has been partly implemented in the form of constructing roads, important infrastructures and projects and hiring teachers, among others, since 2019.
The state government has allocated Rs 700 crore for the implementation of SEDP in the 2022-2023 state’s budget. Of the Rs 700 crore, Rs 350 crore has been earmarked for family development programme.
