Officials directed to work for deeper reach of guarantees

Udupi: The president of the Udupi Taluk Guarantees Implementation Committee, Ramesh Kanchan, has directed officials to work diligently to ensure the effective rollout of the state government’s five flagship guarantee schemes. Chairing the committee’s inaugural meeting on Thursday, Kanchan emphasised the importance of reaching every eligible individual and family with the benefits.

“Officials must collaborate with committee members to resolve any issues encountered during implementation at the taluk level,” he stated, adding that the committee comprises 15 members.

During the meeting, the District Employment Exchange Officer reported that 453 young people in Udupi taluk are currently receiving benefits under the ‘Yuvanidhi’ scheme, which provides monthly allowances of ₹3,000 for unemployed graduates and ₹1,500 for diploma holders. However, 545 individuals had registered for the scheme, and the remaining applicants were rejected due to various reasons. Highlighting a key challenge, the officer mentioned that new eligible graduates and diploma holders attempting to register via the Sevasindhu portal faced technical hurdles. A recurring error message citing a “National Academic Depository (NAD) database problem” has been a significant obstacle. To address the issue, the Employment Exchange Office recently conducted a registration drive at a government college, but students encountered the same technical glitch.

The officer added that the matter has been escalated to officials at Mangalore University, who assured them of raising it with the University Grants Commission (UGC). NAD, a UGC-authorised body, is responsible for maintaining academic credentials in electronic format.

Kanchan also sought updates on the implementation of the ‘Shakthi’ scheme, which offers free bus travel for women on non-premium state-run buses. However, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) officials were notably absent from the meeting. The taluk panchayat executive officer was instructed to issue a notice to the absent KSRTC officials.

Further discussions revealed that the ‘Gruhalakshmi’ scheme, which provides ₹2,000 monthly assistance to the female head of eligible households, is progressing well, according to the Child Development Project Officer. However, some committee members expressed concerns over the lack of cooperation from certain Anganwadi workers and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) in identifying families that have been excluded from accessing the benefits of the schemes.