In scheme of things

Patna, July 1: The state government has set the ball rolling for organising radio fairs across the state to ensure every Mahadalit family gets Rs 400 to purchase radio sets under its scheme.

“Tenders have been floated inviting bids from the radio manufacturers interested in organising the fairs,” the secretary of Mahadalit Mission, Ravi Parmar, told The Telegraph. Parmar said the fairs were likely to be organised within a month.

According to the government’s plan, the radio manufacturers would organise the fairs in which the beneficiaries would have the option to select radio sets of their choice. The state government would provide a coupon of Rs 400 to each of the beneficiaries, which they would have to give to the manufacturers. The government would reimburse the money to the manufacturers in lieu of the coupons.

About 2.2 million radio sets would be distributed among Mahadalit families through this scheme.

“We intend to ensure participation of three to four companies in these fairs with each of them offering at least half-a-dozen models. The beneficiaries opting for models costing more than Rs 400 will have to pay the difference to the manufacturer,” Parmar said.

The Mahadalit Mission secretary said the fairs would be organised in all the district headquarters. If the radio manufacturers provide sufficient manpower, efforts would be made to organise the fairs at sub-divisions also.

The coupons would be distributed among the beneficiaries at the fair venue to ensure they are used for buying radios only. “Local officials, village heads (mukhiyas) and Vikas Mitras would be deputed to ensure that only the right persons get the coupons,” he said.

Steps would be taken to stop resale of radio sets given to the Mahadalits. Tags like “not for sale” and the name of the scheme under which the sets were purchased would embossed on the radio sets distributed through the fairs.

The state government in 2008-09 had launched a special scheme for Mahadalit families under which each family was entitled to get Rs 400. Around 1,000 families of Phulwari block in Patna district were given funds under the scheme that year. A follow-up study revealed that only about 20 per cent of the beneficiaries purchased radio sets. The rest used the money for other purposes.

Alarmed over these findings, the state government came up with the idea of organising the radio fairs. A directive in this regard was issued by chief minister Nitish Kumar in April this year.