BELAGAVI: ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ is an ambitious scheme of the central government for girl child empowerment. However, fraudsters have been using it in Belagavi district and looting people in rural areas by distributing fake forms.Fraudsters are asking families with girls to fill the form and send it to the Prime Minister’s office to get Rs 2 lakh once the girl becomes an adult, police said. They are selling fake forms of the women and child welfare department, which is in Hindi, for Rs 10 to Rs 50.Fraudsters have been saying that every Below Poverty Line (BPL) family with girls in the 8-18 age group needs to fill the form and send it to the Prime Minister’s office. They have made mandatory documents like Aaadhar card of the girl child, bank details of parents and xerox copy of the ration card while posting the form. Since signature of the gram panchayat president is also mandatory, people are lining up at houses of GP presidents.Laxman Kollappagol, GP president of Sambra village in Belagavi taluk, said people have been waiting in front of his house over the past fortnight in the morning to get his signature. “I’m trying to convince people these are fake forms but they don’t listen. They just ask to sign,” he said.Deputy commissioner SB Bommanhalli said ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ is not a scheme in which money is given directly to anyone. Under the scheme, girl children get benefits in the form of fee waiver in educational institutions and in other ways for which parents needn’t submit any form.”In a public notification, the women and child welfare department said the main intention of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme is to protect girl children from increasing female foeticide.It added that Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao is not a direct benefit scheme and the department will initiate action if any person or firm distributes fake forms in the name of the scheme to amass money.

Stay updated with all the Latest Hubli headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.