Chief Minister Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday disbursed ₹192.08 crore into the accounts of 80,032 handloom weavers under YSR Nethanna Nestham with a click of the mouse.
“I have seen the hardships of the handloom weaver families during my padayatra. I have promised that a scheme to provide annual sustenance allowance will be launched soon after coming to power and I am happy to provide a financial assistance of ₹24,000 directly to the bank accounts of weavers for the third consecutive year. Under the scheme, every beneficiary will receive a total aid of ₹1.2 lakh for a period of five years, which will benefit the weavers to overcome their financial problems,” said Mr. Jagan.
The Chief Minister said the State government had spent ₹ 576 crore on weaver families in the last 26 months under the Nethanna Nestham scheme. The financial assistance was being provided in a most transparent way.
“I am also happy to say that the amount will not be adjusted against old dues of the beneficiary to the bank, as the government had spoken with banks in this regard, Mr. Jagan said.
He said those who were eligible and left out from the scheme could still apply at the village and ward secretariats within a month to avail themselves of the financial aid. He said the State government had also cleared the dues of the previous government to the tune of ₹103 crore to APCO and other cooperative societies.
In the times of COVID pandemic, the State government had purchased cloth from APCO for making masks, and placed orders for school uniforms for students, taking the total amount spent during the 26 months of governance to about ₹1,600 crore. He said that the government had also introduced e-platforms for selling handloom products through APCO on e-marketing websites.