Surat: The state government had announced a financial assistance package for diamond artisans who lost their jobs earlier this year. As part of this package, the government will bear the cost of education for the children of these diamond artisans and will directly transfer up to ₹13,500 per child to schools towards their fees. Now, the process of application for this aid has concluded, with over 65,000 forms received.

As part of the first, second, and third phases of this initiative, around 55,000 diamond artisans submitted applications seeking fee assistance for more than 65,000 children studying in about 300 schools. All submitted forms are currently being sent to the Surat Diamond Association for verification. The association will check whether each applicant indeed worked in a diamond unit and lost their job, then return the verified forms to the District Industries Centre.

The District Industries Centre will then cross-verify the forms according to government criteria. After final scrutiny, those found eligible under government policy will receive the aid amount directly into the respective school bank accounts.

According to officials familiar with the process, it may take at least three months before the aid actually reaches school accounts. This delay is due to the detailed scrutiny required for the large number of forms collected over the three phases. One of the main challenges was obtaining signatures from the owners of diamond units where artisans had worked and subsequently lost employment. However, thanks to efforts by the Surat Diamond Association and the Diamond Workers Union, most forms were successfully submitted. Notably, only around 3,000 forms were collected in the first phase, but after resolving difficulties faced by artisans, the second and third phases saw a rapid increase in applications.