The reports that most of the girls who have attained marriageable age across Kashmir valley seldom know anything about the Marriage Assistance Scheme should be a matter of concern for the implementing agency or the nodal department.
Launched with much fanfare, this social welfare scheme was meant to extend some financial help to the families who find it difficult to marry their daughters because of their dismal economic conditions. But the purpose of this initiative gets defeated if the people do not know anything about this scheme or are not provided with any sort of assistance by the field staff of the social welfare department to avail its benefits.
It is heartening that the present dispensation led by the Lt. Governor Shri Manoj Sinha restructured this scheme in March this year thereby increasing the assistance amount to Rs 50,000. Though this amount is meager in terms of the present inflation rate, something is better than nothing especially for the families whose marriage functions are simple in nature.
While the government must make the social welfare department accountable for its failure to propagate the benefits of this scheme, the administration must also try to make funds available to clear the pendency of the cases already received by the department concerned.
Not disbursing the assistance amount to the eligible applicants under the marriage assistance scheme tantamount to depriving them of their legal rights as guaranteed under this scheme. The social welfare department should also involve both print as well electronic media to disseminate the information about this scheme and try to invite the attention of the families living under below poverty line across Jammu and Kashmir.
