JAIPUR: The state government’s unemployment allowance scheme, CM Yuva Sambal Yojana, has arrears of Rs 300 to Rs 350 crore, with payments outstanding since March 2024. The last disbursement of Rs 55 crore was made in Nov for the month of Feb, an employment department official confirmed.
Payment requests, including bills, were submitted to the treasury, with the finance department assuring prompt settlement of the pending amount, the official said. Lakhs of unemployed youth in the state are suffering due to the delay in payment, a senior official of the department said.
At a recent meeting, the finance department had assured the employment dept of making the remaining payment soon. The unemployment allowance is fixed at Rs 4,000 formale beneficiaries and Rs 4,500 for female, transgender and differently-abled individuals. A maximum of two lakh youths benefit annually from unemployment allowances, which is payable for a maximum of two years as per eligibility conditions.
Correspondence between state employment department officials revealed that under the CM Yuva Sambal Yojana, the department accepts and clears applications regularly on its website throughout the year, which has led to the increased financial obligations for the state.
As per norms, applications should only be accepted between April 1 and June 30. The department is now trying to ensure that the number of beneficiaries remains around 2lakh at any given time of the year. Officials said unemployment payments in Nagaur have not been paid since Nov 2023. “In Nagaur, payments for Aug to Oct 2023 and for SCs and STs up to Jan 2024 were made on July 8, 2024, amounting to Rs 21.3 crore. The bill for Nov and Dec 2023 was prepared, but payment is pending. Payments for Jan and Feb 2024 for all beneficiaries, estimated at around Rs 12 crore, will be made after clearance,” as per the department’s earlier correspondence.