Calcutta, Nov. 13: The state government has decided to clear within 72 hours applications of unemployed youths seeking a subsidy a Rs 1 lakh to buy commercial vehicles, sources said.

The sources said the urgency to clear the subsidy was aimed at attracting more young voters for the Assembly polls next year. A section of Nabanna officials said that should the project, named Gatidhara, succeed, Mamata Banerjee would be able to highlight it during her campaign rallies in the districts.

"The government wants to roll out Gatidhara immediately. The first lot of beneficiaries should be able to hit the roads with their vehicles by January. Files are being rushed through accordingly," a transport department official said today.

"For now, we will give the subsidy to 5,000 youths. A makeshift office is being set up to start the process."

The Gatidhara scheme was one of the first cleared by transport minister Madan Mitra after his release on bail.

Youths need to be registered with the government's employment bank to apply for the scheme.

Sources in the labour department, which oversees the employment bank, said registration of youths had increased manifold in the past few months. The sources conceded that the enrolment process for these youths, which usually takes several months, was being fast-tracked to meet the 72-hour deadline.

"Unless the procedures needed to get a subsidy are simplified and fast-tracked, it is difficult for any scheme to gain popularity," said a senior official of the transport department.

"We have worked out a way through which more applicants would be approved in a short span of time."

Launched in 2014, the Gatidhara scheme offers a financial help of up to Rs 1 lakh to unemployed persons aged between 20 and 45 years to buy commercial vehicles. The project is aimed at promoting self-employment.

The scheme, however, failed to cut the mark initially because the government set a cap on the loan limit and most banks reportedly didn't find it attractive enough to dole out small loans.

The transport department recently altered some of the guidelines - such as removing the cap on the quantum of loan to be offered by banks and including 13 non-banking financial companies as provider of loans to applicants.

The government's keenness on rushing through the Gatidhara scheme is expected to substantially address the issue of unemployment.

According to a 2011 census, Bengal topped the list in unemployment followed by Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand.

"So if 5,000 unemployed youths can be provided with a source of income, it will help the chief minister during the Assembly polls next year," an official said.