Nagpur: An ambitious scheme launched by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) for girls belonging to financially backward sections of city and effectively curb female foeticide has run into rough weather and blown away. The scheme “Ladli Laxmi Yojana” launched by NMC with much fanfare was an attempt to Save Girl Child and to lay a firm foundation of girls’ future through improvement in their educational and economic status and to bring about a positive change in social attitude towards birth of a girl. The scheme envisaged insuring every girl child below the age one year.
However, the dream scheme of NMC was shattered to pieces. The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA), through a policy decision, has dumped the very plan of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and thus dealt shattering blow to the NMC scheme and ultimately the welfare of girl child.
With curbing the female foeticide in mind, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation launched the “Ladli Laxmi Yojana” for insuring girls born after June 6, 2012. Hundreds of poor parents lined up at NMC office for availing the benefit and make their daughters’ future shining. Without spending a single rupee a girl would get Rs 1,24,500 at the age of 21 year, was the scheme. The civic body was paying Rs 2258 per child per annum as contribution to the scheme. In the year 2012-13, a total of 391 girls were insured while in 2013-14, 1501 girls got the benefit of the scheme. The NMC, till date, had paid installments amounting to Rs 42,72,391 for total of 1893 insured girls.
But the ambitious NMC scheme got grounded. The IRDA, from the year 2014-15, scrapped the LIC plan through a policy decision. The closure of LIC plan has put thousands of poor parents in dilemma.
It is mandatory for LIC to implement the policy decision of IRDA. The outcome of this development is that the NMC has stopped accepting proposals from parents.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and NMC have taken the cudgels and are striving to bring the scheme on track.
