Pro-activeness of Social Protection Office with Gram Panchayat Support Helped Families to Reduce Their Vulnerability
COVID-19 has increased the vulnerability of the families to a great extent, especially the people living in poor and backward areas. However, to reduce this vulnerability and solving the various socio-economic issues of the under-served population, time to time our Government has come up with various welfare schemes. Many a times, these schemes do not reach the targeted population, but there are some authorities who plays active role in delivering the benefits of the schemes to the targeted population. The Social Security Protection Office of Anandpuri block, in Banswara district sets a perfect example for this. During the lockdown, there were several families who were not getting the benefit of the Social Protection Schemes they were entitled for due to pendency in the submission of some of their documents. The block level Social Protection Unit played a pro-active role in helping these families and attempted to get all the formalities completed so that the vulnerable families could avail the benefits of the welfare scheme.
In this attempt, the Social Protection Officer approached the field team of Vaagdhara and shared a list of families whose forms were pending due to some reasons. He wanted to know the reasons behind the pendency of the formalities and accordingly work on the same so that the problem faced by the families during this crises situation could ease out at some level without delay. Maan Singh Ninama, a field facilitator of Vaagdhara helped the officer in accomplishing his motive of helping the vulnerable families with support of Gram Panchayat.
Shanti Daba Chagan, a widow having 3 children comes under the Below Poverty Line category. Babali is her eldest daughter of the three children, who has dropped out from college and has been married. The other two children Ashok Kumar and Itali are studying in school and are entitled to get the benefit of Palanhar Scheme but they weren’t getting it.
Post the demise of her husband 7 years back, Shanti had the sole responsibility on her shoulder for the sustenance of her family. The main source of income for the family was labor work at brick kiln (run by their relatives) and agriculture produce. But at the time of crisis that emerged in COVID-19, the family was facing a lot of issues. It was becoming difficult even to manage the subsistence need of the family. The situation of the family came in the knowledge of Maan Singh Ninama, and he visited the family for further investigation of the problem. He came to know that the woman is not getting the benefit of Widow Pension as well as Palanhaar Scheme. He further came to know the problem is due to fingerprint and Aadhar details. Maan Singh immediately informed this to the Gram Panchayat and Social Protection Officer who actively took the case under his consideration. He himself visited the village and accompanied the family to nearby E-mitra kiosk and in his presence the pending formalities were completed and the form was successfully submitted.
The officer appreciated Maan Singh Ninama’s efforts to help a family and similarly the family appreciated his pro-activeness in helping the family and sorting out their use immediately. The Social Protection Unit of Anandpuri block in coordination with Gram Panchayats are continuously in contact with the families who are not getting the benefit they are entitled for and is in process to link all the families to the welfare schemes eligible for them. The pro-activeness of Block level Social Protection Officer has helped many families in reducing their vulnerability. Thus, in the time of Pandemic situation where the community is struggling hard to sustain, the collaborative attempt by the Jan-Jatiya Swaraj Sangathan facilitator and official enabled the community to attain their entitlements.