Despite the Delhi government’s Finance Department expressing concern that the expenditure on subsidies would increase if the administration’s flagship Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana were implemented, the Cabinet on Thursday approved the scheme and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) promised that the monthly allowance for beneficiaries would be raised if it returned to power.
On Thursday, The Indian Express reported that the Finance Department had pointed out that the expenditure on subsidies would increase from 15% to 20% if the scheme was implemented and added that “implementing a scheme through a loan will be financially not viable”. While the General Administrative Department (GAD) said as per the procedure, “notice should be given at least two days prior to convening a Cabinet meeting”, ministers led by Chief Minister Atishi met at 10 am to approve the scheme. By 1.10 pm, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal announced that for now, beneficiaries would receive a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 and the amount would be increased to Rs 2,100 after the polls.
However, there is no clarity yet on the timeline of the scheme’s implementation and by when women will start receiving the money. Then there are the questions about its financial viability. It is learnt that the Finance Department highlighted the fiscal situation of Delhi and advised the government not to bring the scheme till a concrete plan with a roadmap was prepared.
In response, Atishi is learnt to have alleged that the Finance Department’s concerns were an example of their “obstructionist approach” that has halted existing schemes and routine departmental work over the past year.
“The elections are approaching and the Mahila Samman scheme was one of the top promises of the party. Also, it was proposed in the Budget and the government promised that it would be implemented by the end of this year only. If the scheme had not been announced on time, the Opposition would have got an opportunity and the party may have lost voters,” said an AAP leader.
The leader added, “Now, it may take time to implement the scheme but now a message has reached the people, especially our target voters, that the Cabinet has passed the scheme and it will be implemented after the polls … So, the Cabinet approving the scheme and the AAP chief’s announcement that monthly allowance would be increased was the cherry on top.”
AAP sources said the scheme was going to be the key part of its election campaign and hence it was important to make the announcement as quickly as possible. In recent elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh last year, the return of the incumbent governments was powered by women voters. All three governments had announced or tweaked cash handout schemes for women. That these schemes had an impact was reflected in the increased voting percentage of women in these states.
As per the electoral rolls, there are 64 lakh women voters in the National Capital, of whom 10 lakh women are taxpayers and 4.5 lakh are women already availing of pension schemes. The AAP government has estimated that 38 lakh women may avail of the Mahila Samman scheme, several of them from the economically weaker sections living in slums and unauthorised colonies. “The lower-middle class living in JJ (jhuggi jhopri) clusters and slums have been dedicated AAP voters. The party has a strong presence in this section of the society,” said an AAP insider.
Announcing the scheme at the party’s headquarters at Feroz Shah Marg in Delhi, Kejriwal said, “AAP volunteers will visit every street and household. Get yourself registered, they will provide you with a registration card. Keep it safe. After the elections, Rs 2,100 will come in your accounts.”
The AAP playbook
This is not the first time that the AAP is set to go into an election on the back of a populist measure. Before the 2014-’15 Assembly elections, the party announced an electricity subsidy that proved to be a game-changer.
Before the 2020 Assembly polls, the AAP announced a scheme allowing women to committee in state-run buses for free. To date, more than 100 crore tickets have been sold so far under this scheme, according to government estimates. Before the polls, the government also announced the Teerth Yatra Scheme providing free pilgrimage for senior citizens. According to the government, more than 84,000 senior citizens have visited different religious places across India under the scheme.
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