6.7 lakh women yet to receive maternity aid

CHENNAI: As many as one-third of the women who applied for Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Benefit Scheme (MRMBS) - Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) since 2018-19 in Tamil Nadu are yet to receive the benefits. While officials assure that the process to disburse the amount is progressing, it offers little comfort for 6.7 lakh women who have been left out of the crucial social security scheme.

Launched in 1987, Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Benefit Scheme is a pioneering initiative to provide assistance to poor women to meet expenses on nutritious diet, to compensate for the loss of income during motherhood and to avoid low birth weight of newborn babies. Over the years, the aid amount was increased from Rs 200 to Rs 18,000.

After the Centre launched the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana as a direct benefit transfer scheme, the two were integrated into a five-instalment scheme, wherein Rs 8,000 is paid in three instalments to eligible women under the co-branded scheme while the remaining would be paid under MRMBS in two tranches.

As per the joint scheme, Rs 4,000 each is paid in the fourth month of pregnancy and upon the birth of the child. After the birth of the child, Rs 6,000 is paid in cash, and two boxes that contain nutritional items like dates, supplements, ghee, etc., worth Rs 2,000 each are also given.

Earlier, facing complaints about the delay in receiving the cash and maternity kits, Health Minister Ma Subramanian had said the lapses were addressed. However, many are still kept waiting.

Of 19.10 lakh women who applied for the integrated scheme, 6.7 lakh are yet to receive the benefits, reveal data from 2018-19.

When asked, officials said the process to disburse the benefit in cash and kind was in progress. Dr TS Selvavinayagam, Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said there was a delay but the issue has been resolved and was earlier communicated to the Union government.

“The implementation of the scheme is a long and complex process. We cannot blame anyone for this. There is no pending amount from either government currently, and the process to provide the amount is in progress,” he said.