CM hikes marriage sop for poor girls to `1 lakh

Schemes helped prevent propagation of social evils: CM

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao enhanced the financial assistance offered to poor families for the marriage of their daughters, from `75,000 to `1 lakh.

Making a statement to this effect in the Assembly on Monday, Mr Rao said the Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes had been launched in October 2014, to offer financial assistance of `51,000 to SC, ST and minority families, for the marriage of their daughters. He said that in 2017, the schemes had been extended to BC and EBC families, and the assistance offered had been increased to `75,166. He added that the assistance was being further increased to `1 lakh.

Stating that 3.6 lakh families had benefitted from the schemes since their introduction, he said that the schemes had also helped prevent the propagation of social evils such as child marriage, feticide, and infanticide.

“The girl has to be at least 18 years old for her family to be able to avail of the benefits of these schemes. This has helped prevent child marriages to a large extent. Marriages performed after receiving the benefits of this scheme get legal recognition as well as the recognition of the government,” the CM said.

Mr Rao said that performing a marriage was a costly affair and the marriage of a girl could be a huge burden for parents from poor sections of society.

“Parents who respect their girls as Mahalakshmi, the deity, end up in a situation where they begin considering them burdens. Parents worry about the expenses of getting a girl married while she is still in the womb, which is why they indulge in feticide and infanticide. Sometimes, girls remain unmarried because of poverty. Families fall into the debt trap while trying to perform their daughters’ marriages,” Mr Rao said.

Mr Rao said that the schemes had been introduced in the state even though they had not been part of the assurances mentioned in the TRS election manifesto.

“While studying the effects of poverty, the severity of the situation moved us. Hence, we resolved to provide financial assistance for the marriage of girls and introduced the schemes in October 2014,” the CM said.