43,000 newlywed women await ‘shagun’ grant
In the runup to the assembly elections, the Congress had promised to increase the amount under the scheme from ₹15,000 to ₹51,000
MUKTSAR: At least 43,000 newly-married women in Punjab are awaiting the ₹15,000-grant that is promised by the state government under the Shagun scheme. These cases are pending since December last year.
MUKTSAR : At least 43,000 newlymarried women in Punjab are awaiting the ₹15,000-grant that is promised by the state government under the Shagun scheme. These cases are pending since December last year.
The scheme was introduced by the Shiromani Akali Dalbharatiya Janata Party government and is aimed at providing financial assistance to schedule caste (SC) and backward caste (BC) families at the time of a daughter’s marriage.
In the run-up to the assembly elections, the Congress had promised to increase the amount from ₹15,000 to ₹51,000. However, despite nine months of the Captain Amarinder Singh-led government, the poll promise is yet to be honoured.
In July, the state government had announced that it will increase the amount to ₹21,000, but the amount is yet to be transferred to the beneficiaries.
Jagmohan Singh Maan, district welfare officer (DWO), Muktsar, said there are 2,275 pending cases in the district
›
We are probing into the cases to see if there are any irregularities because many ineligible people had applied for the grant during the SADBJP regime.
SADHU SINGH DHARAMSOT, minister, welfare of SC/BC
since December 2016.
“We have done our job and have sent the entire list of eligible people to the higher authorities,” he said.
Similarly, Birinder Singh, DWO, Fazilka, informed that there are more than 3,000 pending cases in the district.
Besides these, there are 2,447 cases pending in Bathinda district, 1,200 in Faridkot and 1,056 in Barnala.
Parmjeet Kaur (name changed) is one such eligible beneficiary.
Prior to her marriage last year, her father, Gurnam Singh, had applied for the grant. Today, he makes rounds of the district welfare office in Muktsar with a hope that he will get the grant that was promised by the government.
Speaking about the scheme, Gurnam said, “Before elections, the Congress made tall promises of increasing the amount to ₹51,000. However, it has not honoured its promise. I have been waiting for the grant for a long time.”
Meanwhile, speaking to Hindustan Times, director SC/BC welfare, Malwinder Singh Jaggi, accepted the delay in disbursal of funds. “We will release the amount soon,” he said.
Minister for welfare of SC/ BC, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, said, “We are probing into the cases to see if there are any irregularities because many ineligible people had applied for the grant during the SAD-BJP regime.”
He added: “Despite the poor financial condition of the state, we have increased the amount to ₹21,000. It will be further increased to ₹51,000, as promised in our election manifesto.”
FUNDS RELEASED FOR GURDASPUR, PATHANKOT
Meanwhile, in the run-up to the byelection to the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat, the state government had released the grant for Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts.
Sanjeev Manan, DWO, Gurdaspur, confirmed the release of funds and informed that all cases prior to July this year have been cleared. “At present, we have 1,318 pending cases and these marriages took place after August,” he said.
When asked about the timing of the release of funds coinciding with the byelection, Dharamsot said, “It has nothing to do with the election. Funds were also released in some other districts.”