J&K to launch marriage assistance scheme for poor girls

The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet today gave its nod to the State Marriage Assistance Scheme for girls belonging to poor families.
The Cabinet, which met under chairmanship of Chief Minister Mufti Mohmmad Sayeed, accorded sanction to the adoption of the state sponsored social assistance scheme for its implementation in J&K with immediate effect.
The scheme is a social assistance scheme meant for those unmarried identified girls of the state living below poverty line, who may not find themselves in a position to marry due to financial constraints, Mufti said.
Regarding the approval of the Cabinet to State Marriage Assistance Scheme for Poor Girls, the chief minister said an unmarried girl above 18 years of age belonging to BPL family will receive Rs 25,000 cash assistance and cost of 5 grams of gold at the time of her marriage.

The norms for availing benefit under the scheme are that the prospective beneficiary girl should be above 18 years of age, should be an identified poor girl in the survey list available with the concerned DDCs, DSWOs, he said.
The eligible girl will receive one-time financial assistance of Rs 25,000 and cost of 5gm of gold from the competent authority as provided in the scheme, he added.
The Social Welfare Department will be the nodal department for implementation of the scheme.