Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday enhanced the assistance being provided to perform last rites under Harischandra Sahayata Yojana.
Earlier, Rs 2000 was given to the next of kin of a deceased person for performing last rites of the deceased in rural areas. This has been enhanced to Rs. 3000.
Similarly, the amount of Harischandra Sahayata has been enhanced from Rs 3000 to Rs 4000 for urban areas and Puri Swargadwar.
It is to be noted that financial assistance is provided to poor people for performing the last rites of their deceased relatives. The fund is given from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
A revolving fund of Rs 15,000 has been sanctioned for each Gram Panchayat for the above-mentioned assistance. Hence, for the Revolving Fund of panchayats across the State, an amount of Rs 10.19 crore has been sanctioned.
To monitor this new process either the extension officer of gram panchayat or any other block-level officer will be given charge. To meet the change, the necessary changes have been made in the software and the list of panchayats has been prepared.