Punjab: Congratulations to the government for providing allowance of more than Rs 1,000 to women

Punjab: On International Women’s Day, the Punjab government’s move to fulfill its election promise of providing a ₹1,000 allowance to women aged 18 and above has received mixed reactions. While most women have welcomed this development, female workers have been disappointed by the exclusion of taxpayers and government employees from the allowance. The ₹1,000 allowance for women was one of the AAP’s key election promises during the 2022 assembly elections. After the AAP formed the government in the state, the opposition repeatedly reminded them of this promise. According to announcements made during the Punjab budget today, 97 percent of women will be eligible for the scheme—the Chief Minister’s Women Empowerment Scheme—and ₹9,300 crore has been allocated for this scheme. Under this scheme, all women will be given ₹1,000 per month. This scheme will not include members of the SC community, who will instead receive Rs 1,500 per month. Seema Sharma, a woman from Jalandhar, said, “This announcement is a huge relief. At least the government has thought about women. This promise has been awaited for a long time, but now it has been announced. This scheme will be a boon for women from poor sections of society who have no other means of livelihood.” Gurjeet Kaur, district president of the ASHA Workers and Facilitators Union, said, “Whenever allowances or increments are announced, we government employees are ignored. But when important projects need to be completed or duties need to be performed, our services are relied upon. We work tirelessly throughout the year, and it would be nice if we too received the promised allowance.” “The large female workforce working in government educational institutions will not benefit from the allowance. Therefore, things remain the same for them. This announcement is mostly a populist promise aimed at appeasing a specific vote bank ahead of the elections,” said Karnail Phillaur, a representative of the Government Teachers Union and the Lok Insaaf Manch.