June 14 was World Marriage Day : Kalyana Lakshmi, Shaadi schemes see huge demand

Hyderabad: On the occasion of 'World Marriage Day,' a welfare scheme of Telangana state has drawn huge appreciation.

Kalyana Lakshmi Pathakam and Shadhi Mubaarak schemes of Telangana are termed a boon to brides, particularly for tribal brides whose parents find it marry off their daughters.

As many as 18,809 applications were sanctioned in 2018-2019 in which 11,093 applications got nod in the last five months alone. In contrast, 8,380 applications were sanctioned in the year 2016-17.

Kalyana Lakshmi is a unique programme aimed at helping poor families get their daughters married. It started with an assistance of Rs 51,000 in October 2014. Initially, the scheme was limited to SC, ST, Minority communities.

From 2016-17, BCs and upper caste BPL families were also included. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao announced a hike in the award from Rs 51,000 to Rs 75,116 in 2017, and subsequently, in 2018, he increased the assistance to Rs 1,00,116.

To alleviate the financial distress of every Telangana girl child, the TRS government decided to sanction a one-time financial assistance of Rs 1,00,116 at the time of marriage for brides who are residents of Telangana State.

Accordingly, Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubaarak schemes were introduced with effect from October 2, 2014 for unmarried girls, who have completed 18 years of age at the time of marriage and whose parental income does not exceed Rs. 2 lakh per annum.

Comparatively, Hyderabad division sanctioned assistance to 14,093 applicants in 2018-2019 whereas Secunderabad division helped 4,716 applicants.

Through Kalyana Lakshmi and Shadhi Mubharak, a total of 39,082 beneficiaries were recorded and Rs 2,758,176,062 were spent as per the revenue department.

"Telangana state considers Kalyana Lakshmi Scheme as one of the priority schemes to benefit the below poverty line families and we have sanctioned 18,809 applications in this 2018-2019 year till date and 1,242 applications are pending due to documentation errors.

As many as 284 applications from Secunderabad division and 958 applications from Hyderabad division are on hold for the further verification process," informed Ravi, the Joint Collector of Hyderabad district.