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A recent survey conducted by a civil society forum in Rajasthan ahead of the Lok Sabha election revealed a concerning finding: Entitlements and benefits from previous government schemes are allegedly no longer valid.
The forum launched an investigation to assess the efficacy and accessibility of government programmes aimed at assisting marginalised communities. However, their findings painted a bleak picture of inactive entitlements, leaving many vulnerable people without necessary assistance.
Among the 3,968 respondents surveyed across 16 of the 25 parliamentary constituencies, potential voters revealed that four out of the five benefits provided by the previous government are no longer available.
The Gehlot-led Congress government was ousted in November 2023 during the state assembly elections and was replaced by the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
More than half of respondents (56 per cent) blamed the current Bhajanlal Sharma-led government for discontinuing benefits previously provided to them, claimed Mukesh Goswami, state coordinator for Rajasthan-based Suchna Evam Rozgar Adhikar Abhiyan, a civil society working for the employment rights of the rural population.
The discontinued schemes included social security pensions for approximately 9.5 million beneficiaries and Chiranjeevi scheme, which benefited around 12.5 million households and was renamed as Mukhymantri Ayushman Arogya Yojna, he claimed.
“However, the current Rajasthan government has stated that no suspension of welfare schemes has been directed,” said Goswami.
Respondents alleged that beneficiaries of the Annapoorna food packet scheme, which served 11 million households, as well as employment schemes, have been suspended.
The issue of scheme disruption was more prominent in the Bhanswara Lok Sabha constituency, with approximately 90 per cent of respondents claiming to have been denied access to the schemes. The issue was also severe in Bharatpur and Tonk constituencies, with 86 per cent of the people claiming a halting of benefits.
Constituencies such as Alwar had a relatively smaller impact, with 75 per cent of respondents claiming to have stopped receiving benefits.
According to Goswami, the civil society used automated telephone system technology known as interactive voice response to ask only three questions to respondents who agreed to participate in the survey.
“The survey sought to measure the extent of the problem of scheme benefits being disrupted, inquired as to who the affected respondents held responsible, and finally sought their voting preference in the upcoming Lok Sabha election,” he said.
The survey cautions that the findings should be interpreted with the understanding that the scheme beneficiaries are primarily from economically disadvantaged groups.
He added that no information about these respondents’ backgrounds was gathered during the survey.
“The PCs were chosen for the survey because they were voting during the first and second phase of the general elections, which will begin on April 19,” he said. “About 60 per cent of the affected respondents expressed their intention to support the previous government.”
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