Food Bill Assistance (Bhojan Bill Sahay)

What is Food Bill Assistance?

Food Bill Assistance is a student welfare scheme of the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, Government of Gujarat, run by the Gujarat Unreserved Educational and Economical Development Corporation (GUEEDC). On the GUEEDC portal the scheme appears in Gujarati as Bhojan Bill Sahay, and students often search for it by that name.

According to the GUEEDC scheme page, Food Bill Assistance exists for a specific situation: an unreserved-category student whose own taluka has no institution offering the course they want, and who therefore has to live away from home in a hostel and pay for their own meals. GUEEDC pays Rs 1,500 per month for 10 months towards that food bill; Rs 15,000 for the academic year.

The scheme covers two distinct groups:

1. Graduate-level students in medical, dental, technical and para-medical courses, living outside their home taluka in a hostel that is not a government hostel and not grant-aided.
2. Girls studying in Std 9 to 12 who live in a girls' hostel run by any samaj, trust or institution. GUEEDC extends the same food bill assistance to them.

The restriction to non-government, non-aided hostels is deliberate. Government and grant-aided hostels already provide subsidised meals; this scheme fills the gap for students paying commercial mess charges.

Who is eligible for Food Bill Assistance?

You can apply if:

• You belong to the unreserved (non-reserved) category in Gujarat.
• You are pursuing a graduate-level course in medical, dental, technical or para-medical streams, or you are a girl in Std 9 to 12.
• Your own taluka does not offer the educational facility you need, so you study outside your taluka.
• You live in a hostel that is not a government hostel and does not receive a government grant, for Std 9 to 12 girls, a hostel run by a society, trust or institution.
• Your annual family income is Rs 4,50,000 or less.
• You pay for your own meals at the hostel and can get a certificate from the hostel saying so.

You cannot apply if:

• You belong to a reserved category (SC, ST or SEBC). GUEEDC serves the unreserved class only; other corporations handle reserved-category students.
• Your hostel receives a government grant; GUEEDC states specifically that a student in a grant-receiving hostel is not eligible.
• You live in a government hostel.
• Your annual family income is above Rs 4,50,000.
• You study inside your own taluka and live at home. The whole basis of the scheme is the absence of the facility locally.
• You are a boy in Std 9 to 12. The school-level extension is limited to girls in trust-run girls' hostels.

What documents are required for Food Bill Assistance?

The hostel certificate is the document most often missing. GUEEDC needs it to establish both that you actually reside in the hostel and that you pay the mess charges yourself. A bona fide certificate from the college does not substitute for it.

How to apply for Food Bill Assistance online

1. Open esamajkalyan.gujarat.gov.in and go to the Gujarat Unreserved Education and Economical Development Corporation section under the Corporation menu.
2. Select Food Bill Assistance and click Apply Now.
3. First-time users click New User? Please Register Here, fill in the details and click Register.
4. Log in with your User ID, password and captcha code.
5. Read the scheme conditions displayed and click OK.
6. Confirm your permanent address if it is correct, or enter the correct address, then click Save & Next.
7. Upload the documents — category certificate, income certificate, bona fide certificate, hostel certificate, LC, Std 10 marksheet, fee receipt, Aadhaar and bank passbook.
8. Review the form. Click No, Cancel to edit, or Yes, Submit if everything is correct.
9. Click Save Application, note down the application number, and take a printout with Print Application.

GUEEDC also publishes a step-by-step "How to Apply" user manual for its schemes as a PDF on the eSamajKalyan portal, which is worth reading before you start.

How to complete the compulsory hard-copy submission

1. Print the submitted application from the portal and sign it.
2. Attach attested copies of every certificate and mark sheet you uploaded.
3. Send the complete set to the Deputy Director (Non-Reserved Category) or the District Social Welfare Officer of the district where you are studying: by courier, by post, or in person.
4. Keep the courier receipt or acknowledgement together with your application number.

If the hard copy is not submitted, GUEEDC does not treat the application as valid, however complete the online form is. This is the single largest cause of lost applications under the scheme.

How much is paid, and when?

Food Bill Assistance pays Rs 1,500 per month for 10 months, a total of Rs 15,000 for the academic year. The 10-month period reflects the teaching year rather than 12 calendar months, so no assistance is paid for the vacation months.

Payment is made into the student's own bank account, which is why the passbook copy is mandatory and why the name on the account must match the name on the application. The benefit is not paid to the hostel.

One data note for readers who compare sources: the myScheme entry for this scheme states Rs 1,500 per month in its benefits section but quotes Rs 1,200 per month and Rs 12,000 a year in two of its FAQ answers. The GUEEDC scheme page. The implementing corporation's own published page: states Rs 1,500 per month for 10 months, and that is the figure used here.

How to check your Food Bill Assistance status

1. Open esamajkalyan.gujarat.gov.in.
2. Go to the View Application Status page.
3. Enter the application number you noted at submission.

Track it a few weeks after the hard copy is delivered. If the status shows the application as incomplete, the missing item is almost always one of the certificates listed above; obtain it from the correct authority and resubmit through the District Social Welfare Officer.

Why Food Bill Assistance applications get rejected

• Hard copy not submitted after the online application.
• Hostel is government-run or grant-aided, which disqualifies the student outright.
• No hostel certificate confirming that the student pays for meals.
• Income certificate above Rs 4,50,000, or issued by an authority other than the TDO, Mamlatdar or Chief Officer.
• Non-reserved category certificate from the wrong authority.
• Course not covered. The graduate stream must be medical, dental, technical or para-medical.
• Student studies within their own taluka, which defeats the basis of the scheme.
• No fresh application filed for the new academic year. The scheme does not renew itself.
• Bank account name mismatch, which blocks the credit even after approval.

Key points on timing

• A fresh application is required every academic year. A student in a five-year MBBS course applies five times.
• Apply after admission is confirmed and once you have the hostel certificate, since both the bona fide and hostel documents are needed at upload stage.
• GUEEDC does not publish a fixed statewide last date on its scheme page. Confirm the current year's window with your District Social Welfare Officer (Non-Reserved) rather than assuming the portal will stay open.

Help and grievance redressal

• GUEEDC helpline: 079-23258688 and 079-23258684
• Office: Gujarat Unreserved Educational and Economical Development Corporation, Block No. 2, 7th Floor, D-2 Wing, Karmyogi Bhavan, Sector 10-A, Gandhinagar, Gujarat - 382010
• District level: Deputy Director (Non-Reserved Category) or District Social Welfare Officer of the district where you study. GUEEDC also publishes a district-wise District Implementing Officer list on its website.
• Portal: esamajkalyan.gujarat.gov.in for filing and status

Food Bill Assistance is free to apply for. GUEEDC charges nothing, and no agent or middleman can get a student's name added to the sanction list.