BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday formally launched yet another populist scheme, ‘Mamata’ __ under which Rs. 5,000 will be paid to six lakh pregnant and lactating women in rural areas every year __ to woo women voters ahead of the panchayat polls in February next year.‘Mamata’ is the third major scheme launched or announced by Naveen in the past one month provoking criticism from the Opposition. The Chief Minister had earlier announced the Biju Setu Yojana (BBY) and a proposal to build cement concrete roads (CCRs) in 4,000 flood-affected villages. While 400 bridges will be constructed under the BBY in three years at a cost of Rs. 1,000 crore, the CCRs will cost Rs.150 crore. ‘Mamata’, the Chief Minister said, was announced some time ago and registration of pregnant women started on September 5. It is heartening to note that within one month, nearly two lakh pregnant women have registered under this scheme, he said. ‘Mamata’ aims to cover all pregnant women above 19 years of age. While the scheme aims at reducing the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in a big way, it will also help in improvement of nutrition status of pregnant women and newborns. Over 50,000 pregnant women received their first instalment of Rs. 1,500 each on Wednesday. During the function, the Chief Minister interacted with beneficiaries from Ganjam, Koraput, Kalahandi, Mayurbhanj and Jajpur through video conferencing. As per the scheme, pregnant women registered with ‘anganwadi’ centres will receive Rs. 5,000 in four instalments through bank accounts. The instalments have been designed to ensure that the beneficiary gets cash assistance every three months. The last instalment would be given on completion of measles immunisation. Naveen said health and nutrition needs of women and children have been the key areas of concern before the Government. The latest data shows that IMR in Orissa has declined to 65 from 98 in the last 10 years and MMR to 258 from 358. The National Family Health Survey 3 data show that Orissa has had a decline of 10 points in child under-nutrition __ probably the biggest drop in the country. A lot still needs to be done, he said. Women and Child Development Minister Anjali Behera, Chief secretary Bijay Kumar Patnaik and senior officials were present.
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