The Mamata Banerjee government has decided to expedite the process of launching the disbursal of monthly honourarium to Hindu priests and bring as many of them as possible under the scheme to ensure that no one feels left out.

“The target is to send the first allotment to the bank accounts of the eligible priests before Puja. Chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay would hold a meeting with district magistrates tomorrow (Saturday) to draw up a roadmap for initiating the scheme on time,” said a senior state government official.

The chief minister had announced recently that her government would provide a monthly honourarium of Rs 1,000 each to “poor Hindu priests”. In an attempt to send out a message that her government believes in inclusiveness, Mamata Banerjee also promised that the administration would consider similar payments for economically weaker clerics in other faiths like Christianity, Jainism and Buddhism.

Sources in the state secretariat said the project had initially been planned considering that there could be 8,000 to 10,000 Hindu priests who could be given the honourarium.

“But the project is likely to start with more than 20,000 beneficiaries as many priests have already contacted district administrative officials showing their interest in availing themselves of the benefit. The state government would not discriminate against any of the eligible applicants,” said another official.

According to sources aware of the plan drawn up by Nabanna, the government is all set to roll out a housing scheme also for the priests.

“The state government would construct dwelling units for the priests under a housing scheme provided they have land. The chief secretary would discuss this matter also with the district magistrates tomorrow,” said a source.

The sources said the government had already drafted guidelines for the selection of beneficiaries of the honourarium and housing schemes. The guidelines stipulate that the beneficiary has to be financially weak and a permanent resident of the state. The priests who draw honourarium, stipend or pension from any other government schemes will not be considered.

“The state government is laying stress on putting a proper mechanism in place for selecting the beneficiaries. The government wants to ensure that the honourarium reaches those who actually need it,” said another official.

The information and cultural affairs department would be the nodal agency for the scheme, said a source.

The Nabanna top brass, the source said, passed on instructions to ensure that the distribution of benefits didn’t result in chaos.

“Several complaints had come up while selecting the beneficiaries of the schemes launched to help Cyclone Amphan victims. The government does not want a repeat of such situation and that is why the chief secretary himself would make the district magistrates aware of the selection process,” said another official.

Trinamul insiders have said the ruling establishment is eager to launch the scheme at the earliest as the Assembly polls are only about six months away.

“The chief minister tried to strike a balance by offering honourarium to Hindu priests as the BJP has been trying to polarise the society on communal lines by accusing the government of pandering to Muslims by providing honourarium to imams and muezzins. We all know each scheme has a teething problem and it does not go smooth immediately after its launch... But we want to run the scheme smoothly for a few months ahead of the polls,” said a minister.