Cuttack: Eleven women from Balasore district have filed a petition in the Orissa high court, seeking benefits under the now-defunct Green Card scheme. The petitioners, who were issued the cards between 1988 and 2012, have alleged that they have not received any of the promised benefits even after years.The Green Card scheme, launched by the Odisha govt in 1983, aimed to encourage permanent family planning among couples with two or fewer children. Under the scheme, beneficiaries were promised homestead land, financial assistance to construct homes, reservation in housing loans for lower and middle-income groups, reservation for their children in technical education institutes and other incentives, such as participation in lotteries and monetary awards. At present, more than six lakh couples are Green Card holders in Odisha. Though the scheme was officially withdrawn in 2012, the petitioners have argued that discontinuation cannot be used as a reason to deny benefits to existing cardholders. During the hearing on June 26, advocate Sankar Prasad Pani, representing the petitioners, submitted that the Green Cards were issued by the state and the govt is duty-bound to honour the commitments made under the scheme. “Just because no fresh Green Cards are being issued now, it doesn’t mean that existing holders should be denied the benefits,” Pani told the court.Taking note of the submission, Justice Sashikanta Mishra directed the state counsel to seek instructions from the govt and explain why benefits had not been extended to the petitioners.The matter has been listed for further hearing on July 17.Last year, the petitioners had submitted a detailed representation to the Balasore collector on Nov 30 and to the secretary of health and family welfare department on Dec 16, but no action was taken, prompting them to move the high court.The petition seeks a court direction to the authorities concerned to consider the representations and provide the entitled benefits within a stipulated time.Most of the petitioners are landless and come from underprivileged backgrounds. A 2007 letter from the revenue and disaster management department had also directed the board of revenue to allot homestead land to Green Card holders, the petition said.
