With the identification of over 36 lakh ghost and duplicate beneficiaries of various state government schemes with the help of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and Aadhar card, Haryana has saved over Rs 7,800 crore in the past nine years.

Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal on Thursday said that out of the 83 schemes implemented by various departments of the state government, benefits from 74 schemes have been notified under the DBT and have been linked to the Aadhaar card.

Presiding over the third meeting of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Advisory Board, Kaushal said with this, the state government has effectively identified a cumulative total of 36,74,833 ghost or duplicate beneficiaries from the fiscal year 2014-15 to 2022-23. “This strategic initiative has yielded substantial notional savings amounting to Rs 7,822.69 crore,” he said.

The Chief Secretary emphasised the urgent inclusion of nine schemes related to Skill Development, the Food and Supplies Department, Urban Local Bodies Department, Agriculture, and the AYUSH Department into the DBT framework within a week. This measure aims to guarantee that benefits from all state schemes are seamlessly provided through DBT, he said.

Kaushal also underscored the importance of operating all schemes through the Parivar Pehchan Patra for enhanced efficiency. He said as on date, 26 Departments have uploaded 141 DBT schemes on the state DBT portal. Out of total 141 schemes, 83 are state schemes and 58 are Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS).

The Chief Secretary emphasized the pursuit of 100 percent digitisation for all schemes. He directed the upload of data on both the Jan Sahayak App and Umang platform. This move is aimed at streamlining processes such as online applications, a computerised application process, and direct payment into the applicant’s account.

Highlighting the significance of the initiative, Kaushal said that the Jan Sahayak App will be relaunched on December 25, coinciding with Good Governance Day. Post-relaunch, all schemes currently operating at Common Service Centers will seamlessly transition to being managed through the Jan Sahayak App.

Kaushal issued directives to officers of the agriculture department, urging them to promptly disburse subsidies to farmers under various schemes designed for the management of paddy straw. He also called for the timely release of the subsidy, set at Rs 1,000 per acre, for eligible farmers who have adopted the Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) technique.

The chief secretary said farmers are provided assistance at the rate of Rs 50,000 per hectare for essential inputs, including biofertilizer, biopesticide, vermicompost, botanical extracts, and more. This initiative aims to benefit farmers across Haryana. He said 62 per cent of this support is directly provided to farmers through the DBT mechanism.