U’khand transfers Rs 146 cr to 33k girls under Nanda Gaura Yojana

Dehradun: Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday transferred Rs 145.9 cr directly into the bank accounts of 33,251 girls under the Nanda Gaura Yojana for the 2025-26 financial year through direct benefit transfer (DBT), a flagship component of the state's social welfare efforts.Of the beneficiaries, 5,913 newborn girls received Rs 11,000 each, while 27,338 girls were granted Rs 51,000 each after passing Class 12, aimed at supporting higher education and reducing gender disparity.During a programme held at the CM's residence, Dhami said, "To eliminate discrimination between sons and daughters at birth and to encourage the birth of girls, the state govt is operating the Nanda Gaura Yojana." He added that the govt was also trying to strengthen women's economic condition through the Lakhpati Didi scheme.Dhami further said the Nanda Gaura scheme was successful in achieving the goals of stopping female foeticide, encouraging institutional delivery, promoting girl child education and removing gender inequality in society.While the DBT rollout was welcomed in most of the state as a boost to girls' education and welfare, the timing of the transfer — coming ahead of next year's assembly elections — also sparked debate, with critics pointing to recent judicial commentary on pre-poll freebies and direct transfers.A three-member bench of the Supreme Court had last week described the trend of state govts announcing wide cash benefits close to elections as "nothing but appeasement", warning that such measures could strain finances and cloud democratic choice. The bench had added that welfare must be carefully calibrated and not simply timed for electoral gains.Congress state chief spokesperson Garima Dasauni told TOI, "Recently, the apex court made a clear observation on such distribution of funds before elections. Distribution of funds prior or during a poll year has become an onward trend since BJP came into power in 2014."She added: "It is similar to what happened in Bihar, where Rs 10,000 was transferred into bank accounts of women. Now, they are trying to replicate that model in Uttarakhand."