Uttar Pradesh government ups scrutiny of social welfare schemes

The Uttar Pradesh government has stepped up on-ground scrutiny by departments working to improve social indicators with the aim to plug gaps in social welfare projects, provide relief to their beneficiaries and fix accountability, people in the know said. Assembly polls are due in the state early next year.

The move to spruce up functioning comes even as state authorities battle criticism on the health and sanitation front after an outbreak of dengue fever in Firozabad claimed scores of lives while floods in 15 districts has added to people’s woes.

According to a government spokesperson, the state's department for basic education has directed officers of director and additional director levels, consultants and advisors to visit schools in line with a "school checking campaign" and submit a report on the quality of schools and the educational experience being imparted. Each officer has to visit 10 schools in the district to verify provision of free textbooks, seating arrangements, etc.


The state counts 'Operation Kayakalp', under which the state claims to have transformed 135,000 government primary schools to bring them on a par with convent schools, among its major achievements.

“Deputy directors to visit 10 villages each to verify the eligibility of beneficiaries of schemes, such as those for widow pension, director of social welfare department Rakesh Kumar told ET, following discovery of fake beneficiaries.