Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Council headed by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday restructured the State Marriage Assistance Scheme to provide the benefits to all AAY and PHH families.
As per the restructured scheme, any girl of legally marriageable age belonging to the families of Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY), or Priority Household (PHH) ration card holders, will be eligible for one-time financial assistance of Rs 50,000, an official spokesman said.
He said the decision to restructure the scheme was taken at a meeting chaired by Sinha and attended among others by Farooq Khan and Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisors to the LG, Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta, and Principal Secretary to the LG Nitishwar Kumar.
“The assistance will be given before the marriage, for which she (the beneficiary) will be required to apply at least one month in advance to the concerned district social welfare officer,” the spokesman said.
He said the scheme requires the District Social Welfare Officer concerned to verify the details of the beneficiary regarding marital status, age and non-availing of benefits under other schemes like ‘Ladli Beti’, besides ensuring disbursement of the financial assistance before the date of marriage through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
To further promote girl child education in the targeted population, the additional eligibility of completing elementary education by the beneficiary before her marriage has been included, the spokesman said.
However, to provide a smooth transition in this regard, a grace period of three years — up to March 31, 2025 — is being provided, he added.
Earlier, the benefits under the scheme were limited only to the girls of marriageable age who figured in the poor girls’ survey, especially conducted for this purpose by the Social Welfare Department.
