Meghalaya government has spent over Rs 62 crore to help over 15,000 single mothers and over 31,000 infirm people in the state under the Chief Minister's Social Assistance programme, officials said today.
"The state government has incurred an expenditure of Rs 62.57 crore for the upkeep of 15,014 single mothers and over 31,000 infirms under the Chief Minister's Social Assistance Scheme for the Persons with Disabilities, Infirm and Single Mothers upto March 2016-17," a social welfare department official told Chief Minister Mukul Sangma during a review meeting of the scheme.
The official said 5,305 disabled persons were also provided assistance to the tune of Rs 10.99 crore.
Under the Wedding Assistance Scheme, Rs 3.37 crore was spent to assist in the wedding expense of 225 orphaned girls.
Sangma said that the rise in the number of single mothers across the state prompted him to take it upon himself to talk to the chief secretary to design skill programmes specifically for single mothers.
As the department has a ready data, official would be able to easily identify right persons for a specific skill development training, he said.
He also asked the department to continue publicity of these social assistance programmes to ensure that no eligible person is left out.
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