Scheme for Celebration of Birth/Death Anniversary of Eminent Personalities (Delhi)

What is the Scheme for Celebration of Birth/Death Anniversary of Eminent Personalities?

Scheme for Celebration of Birth/Death Anniversary of Eminent Personalities is a Delhi state scheme under which the Department for the Welfare of SC/ST/OBC/Minorities, Government of NCT of Delhi, arranges the physical infrastructure for public functions marking the birth and death anniversaries of a defined list of social reformers and saints. The Council of Ministers approved implementation of the scheme vide Cabinet Decision No. 2644 dated 25 September 2018, and it was notified by the department under F.No.13(2)/GIA-Celebration/DSCST/2017-18.

Note the department. The scheme sits with the SC/ST/OBC Welfare Department at B-Block, 2nd Floor, Vikas Bhawan, I.P. Estate, New Delhi 110002 to not with the Art, Culture and Languages Department, which runs a separate list of cultural plan schemes. Applications sent to the wrong department are a common cause of delay.

The stated objective is to provide assistance in the form of arrangement for tentage, sound system, lighting and banners for celebrating the birth and death anniversaries of personalities "who tirelessly worked for promoting social justice, removal of inequality and discrimination and for amelioration of the conditions of weaker sections of the society". Assistance goes to desirous registered NGOs.

The single most important thing to understand: this scheme pays no money to the organiser. The 2021 amendment order records the position plainly, no financial assistance is provided directly to NGOs for celebration of Jayantis. The department arranges the tent, stage, sound and lighting through empanelled vendors and settles the vendor's bill itself.

Whose anniversaries does the scheme cover?

The department publishes the list of covered personalities with their anniversary dates:

The original 2018 scheme covered three personalities, Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar, Sant Ravidas and Maharishi Balmiki. The amendment approved by Cabinet Decision No. 2989 dated 26 March 2021 extended the scheme to the Jayantis of Sant Kabir, Sant Gadge and Sant Durbalnath. Four of the seven dates follow the Hindu lunar calendar, so the calendar date shifts every year and an organiser must file against the year's actual date.

Who is eligible for this Delhi celebration assistance?

Eligible to apply:

• NGOs registered under the Societies Registration Act which are in existence.
• Organisations having audited accounts, this is part of the base eligibility in the 2018 order.
• Organisations whose applications are duly recommended by the area MLA, which are then placed before the selection committee.
• Under the 2021 amendment, organisations that are not registered or do not have audited accounts are also allowed assistance, but only in the form of arrangement for tentage through approved government vendors.

Cannot apply:

• Individuals. No personal benefit exists under this scheme. The application form is filed in the name of an organisation, signed by an authorised person and stamped with the organisation's seal.
• Organisations already assisted for a function in the same cycle. An organisation can seek assistance for only one function at a time, and the form asks for details of assistance already provided by the department in the current financial year.
• Organisations debarred for an earlier violation of the scheme conditions.
• Anyone seeking assistance for an occasion outside the listed seven personalities.

There is no NGO-wise or area-wise limitation on celebration of functions under the scheme. The volume control is the annual coverage target instead — initially 10 NGOs or institutions from each revenue district per year, to be decided by the department.

How to apply for anniversary celebration assistance in Delhi

1. Download the application form from the Services-Schemes page of scstwelfare.delhi.gov.in, where the department publishes both the original scheme order and the form. Also download the guidelines PDF so you can check the conditions before committing to a venue.
2. Fill in the form completely; name of the Jayanti or function, name and address of the organisation, name and mobile number of the authorised person, address where the function will be held, name of the area's MLA, name and number of the constituency, name of the district, and details of any assistance already received from the department in the current financial year.
3. Obtain the area MLA's recommendation and enclose the original letter. Tick the "Yes" option in the recommendation field of the form.
4. Sign and seal the form, name of organisation, name and mobile number of the authorised person, and the organisation's seal are all required at the foot of the form.
5. Submit the application to the Department for the Welfare of SC/ST/OBC, B-Block, 2nd Floor, Vikas Bhawan, I.P. Estate, New Delhi 110002, well ahead of the anniversary date. Applications are considered by the selection committee, so a form filed a week before a Jayanti is unlikely to be processed in time.
6. Wait for the committee's decision. The committee for selection of NGOs is chaired by the Hon'ble Minister (Welfare of SC/ST), with the Special Secretary DSCST, the AO or AAO DSCST and a Finance Department representative nominated by the Principal Secretary (Finance) as members, and the concerned Deputy Director (SC/ST) as Member Secretary.
7. Hold the function with the arrangements made by the empanelled vendor, acknowledge the department's assistance on the invitation card, backdrop, banner and posters, and arrange photography.
8. Submit one set of photographs and a satisfactory report to the department after the event, so that the vendor's payment can be released.

What kind of programme can be organised?

The scheme order gives an illustrative list of what the assisted function may contain:

• An appropriate cultural programme.
• A conference or symposium on themes such as the life and work of the great saint, the contribution of the eminent personality to social justice, or a road map for building a society based on the principles of social justice, equity and equality of opportunity.
• A quiz, debate or essay competition on the life and work of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar for the promotion of social justice, for students, with cash prizes and books on Dr Ambedkar for the winners.

How much assistance is given and how is it paid?

The upper ceiling is Rs 50,000 for one function on each occasion. That ceiling may be relaxed by the committee under the chairmanship of the Hon'ble Minister on a case-to-case basis.

Payment never passes through the organiser. Arrangements for celebration of the events are made through agencies empanelled by the Revenue Department at approved rates, and the amended order permits arrangements through empanelled vendors of other government departments or through GeM as well. All expenditure is funded by the Department for the Welfare of SC/ST/OBC.

Payment to vendors is made after joint verification of the work done and utilisation of funds by a committee comprising Deputy Directors, Accounts Functionaries and Section Officers of the department, on the basis of a satisfactory report from the organisation concerned. Departmental officers may also carry out physical verification of the function.

What are the conditions an organiser must meet?

• Acknowledge the assistance on the invitation card, backdrop, banner and posters, stating that the programme was organised with assistance received from the Department for the Welfare of SC/ST/OBC, Government of NCT of Delhi.
• Arrange photography of the event and submit one set of photographs to the department for official record.
• Stick to one function at a time per organisation.
• Comply with every scheme condition. In case of violation, the applicant is liable to refund the amount incurred on the assistance provided by the government and would be debarred from applying for any grant or assistance under any scheme or programme.

Why applications get rejected

• Sent to the wrong department, most often Art, Culture and Languages instead of SC/ST/OBC Welfare.
• No MLA recommendation and no Minister's recommendation on file.
• Original recommendation letter not enclosed, a photocopy does not satisfy the form's requirement.
• Occasion not on the list of seven personalities.
• Second application in the same cycle by an organisation that has already been assisted.
• Filed too close to the anniversary date for the committee to meet and the vendor to be tasked.
• Organisation debarred following an earlier violation.

Where do I get help?

• Department for the Welfare of SC/ST/OBC, B-Block, 2nd Floor, Vikas Bhawan, Government of NCT of Delhi Department, I.P. Estate, New Delhi 110002 to 011-23379512.
• Services-Schemes page on scstwelfare.delhi.gov.in, which carries the scheme guidelines, the original scheme order and the application form as downloadable PDFs.
• Feedback and grievance links on the same departmental website, and the Notice Board section where orders and circulars affecting the scheme are published.

No agent can secure this assistance. The route runs through a written application, an MLA or Minister recommendation, and a Minister-chaired selection committee, and the vendor is paid by the department only after the work is jointly verified.

How to check your application status

There is no online tracking portal or application-ID system published for this scheme, since the whole process runs on a paper form routed through the area MLA and a Minister-chaired selection committee. An applicant organisation has to follow up through offline channels instead.

• Call the department helpline, 011-23379512, and quote the organisation's name, the personality's Jayanti applied for, and the date the form was submitted. Since only around 10 NGOs per revenue district are assisted each year, the department can usually tell a caller whether the file has reached the selection committee or is still pending scrutiny at the desk level.
• Visit the department in person at B-Block, 2nd Floor, Vikas Bhawan, I.P. Estate, New Delhi 110002, and ask the Deputy Director (SC/ST) desk that handles Jayanti celebration files. Carry a copy of the submitted form and the MLA's recommendation letter, since the office does not issue a separate acknowledgement receipt or reference number at filing.
• Check the Notice Board or Services-Schemes section of scstwelfare.delhi.gov.in from time to time. The department publishes committee decisions, empanelled vendor lists and circulars there rather than through individual status lookups.
• Track it through the area MLA's office, since the recommendation originates there. The MLA's office is often the fastest route to learn whether the file has been forwarded and what the committee decided, as it is a co-signatory on the original request.
• After the event, status shifts from approval to payment. The organisation's job at that stage is to submit the photographs and the satisfactory report; the department then arranges joint verification of the vendor's work before releasing payment. An applicant who has held the function but not yet submitted the photo set and report should do that first before asking why the vendor has not been paid, since the report is the trigger for the verification and payment cycle.

Because assistance is paid to the empanelled vendor and not to the organisation, there is no bank transfer or DBT status for an applicant to check; the only two things being tracked are whether the committee has approved the function and whether the vendor's bill has been cleared after the post-event report is filed.