Akhilesh's unemployment allowance has many takers, prompts talk of tweaked policy

Lucknow: At 1 pm on a Monday, Pooja Saxena, is waiting in line in 36 degrees heat outside Lucknow's employment bureau. There are nearly 40 other women surrounding her.  

They are here to register for the Rs 1000 dole a month for every unemployed person in Uttar Pradesh who has graduated from Class 10. This was a prominent part of new chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's campaign, and it is snapping up followers.

More than 12 lakh people have signed up in the last three weeks across the state for the dole.

The estimated cost to the government is 1000 crores per year. But the current rate of enrollment suggests that budget will be busted much before the year is up. Anyone who is above the age of 35 can sign up - all it takes is a high school certificate that proves the age and the minimum educational qualification...

Now the government is thinking about tweaking the policy. An upper age limit of 45, for example. Or asking that applicants come from households whose monthly income is lower than an amount the government will prescribe.

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Sources say the government may also ask some applicants to work for the dole  on government projects that could utilize their skills for a few days.

Pooja is a housewife with a masters degree in home science and a diploma in computers. She says that bringing up her two young children makes it tough for her to get a job. Her husband is sick.

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The dole will be used, she says, to pay school fees.

A few feet ahead of her is a young student, Gaurav Sahi. He says he's here to collect a tablet. The chief minister had maxed out his appeal among the youth of the state by promising tablets to all students who pass Class 10 and enroll for Class 11, and laptops to all students who clear Class 12 and enroll themselves in college. 

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"I want a laptop, but I think I am only eligible for a tablet," he says.

Neither is given away at the employment bureau. But the office has become the go-to place for people looking to collect what was promised in the Samajwadi Party's campaign.

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Critics of Mr Yadav say that monitoring the distribution of freebies will be more challenging than the young chief minister imagined.