Amid Covid, state govt extends financial help to nearly 1.20 lakh women for marriage

A total of 2.80 lakh applications were received for financial support under the 'Rupashree Prakalpa' in the 2019-20 financial year.

Pritesh Basu | MP | 30 October 2020 | Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government has extended financial support for marriage of nearly 1.20 lakh women from financially weaker families under the 'Rupashree Prakalpa' at this critical time of the pandemic.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee repeatedly directed the top brass of the concerned state Women and Child Development and Social Welfare department in review meetings to ensure that genuine applicants should not face any inconvenience in getting the benefits of the scheme.

In the past six months from April to September, the state government has received 1.30 lakh applications. 'Around 90 percent of these applications have been processed, that is more than 1.17 lakh out of 1.30 lakh applicants. The remaining are being scrutinised,' said a senior state government officer.

The data shows that a total of 2.80 lakh applications were received for financial support under the 'Rupashree Prakalpa' in the 2019-20 financial year. 'So the number this time did not drop much despite Covid with 1.30 lakh applications in the first six months of the fiscal, though the dates of marriages had got deferred in many cases,' the officer said, adding that all district authorities were directed to ensure fast completion of the verification process so that disbursement of benefits is not delayed at any cost especially when people are facing a financial crisis due to the nationwide lockdown.

The Rupashree scheme is a brainchild of the Chief Minister and provides Rs 25,000 one-time financial assistance to the family of a woman above 18 years at the time of marriage. It was introduced in 2018 as there are many poor families who find it 'extremely difficult' to bear the expenditure of marriage of their girls. Initially, a budget of Rs 1,500 crore was sanctioned for the project to extend support to at least 6 lakh beneficiaries.

Beside Kanyashree, the Rupashree scheme has brought about a social change as these people no longer need to borrow money at a higher rate of interest to get their daughters married off. There have been many instances before the scheme came into existence when families were ruined due to loans, which they failed to repay. The girls who derive the benefit of the Kanyashree Prakalpa are also eligible to reap the benefit of the Rupashree scheme.