KOLKATA: Duare Sarkar, the Bengal government’s flagship two-month outreach programme, is all set to roll out on Tuesday with the dual promise of delivering public services on doorstep and hearing out grievances, if any, regarding welfare schemes.
“The special drive will be held between December 1, 2020, and January 30, 2021, during which 20,000 camps will be organised in four phases to help people avail of scheme benefits,” chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said on Monday. “The first phase will continue till December 11; the second will span from December 15 to 24. The third from January 2 to 12 and the final mop-up round from January 18 to 30,” he added.
Bandyopadhyay urged everyone to attend the camps. He said those who would provided all necessary documents — such as photocopies of Aadhaar card and voter ID — during phase-I would get their Swasthya Sathi card in phase-II. If documents are submitted during phase-II, scheme cards would be handed over in phase-III; and so on.
Panchayat and civic officials will help prospective beneficiaries to fill up forms, he said and emphasised that grievances related to ration would be addressed on the spot so that Khadya Sathi cards could be made available to applicants. Necessary amendments to the said card would be carried out at these phase-wise camps.
Recently, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had announced the Duare Sarkar programme to ensure that every Bengal resident could avail of the Swasthya Sathi card, which would entitle them to cashless treatment at both government and private hospitals up to Rs 5 lakh a year. A state government notification later extended the campaign to other schemes as well.
“People can apply for schemes like Kanyashree, Sikshashree, Rupashree and Aikyashree or for scholarships. Applications for SC/ST and OBC certificates will also be received. In addition, one can enrol for Jai Johar and Taposili Bandhu schemes,” Bandyopadhyay said, adding that officers and staff running the camps would be monitored for transparency.
The chief secretary reiterated that the camps were meant to plug gaps in government promises, if any. Under Krishak Bandhu scheme, farmers can seek support while job-seekers could apply under MGNREGS. Online forms will be available on the state government’s Egiye Bangla website.
At a news conference at Trinamool Bhavan, minister of state for information and cultural affairs Indranil Sen said Duare Sarkar would be operational in 344 blocks of Bengal to ensure the entire population was covered under Swasthya Sathi.