JAMMU, MARCH 16 (KNS) : The Administrative Council (AC) which met here under the chairmanship of the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, today restructured the State Marriage Assistance Scheme to provide the benefits to all AAY and PHH families.

Farooq Khan and Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisors to the Lieutenant Governor, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, J&K and Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor attended the meeting.

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. The assistance will be given before her marriage, for which she will be required to apply at least one month in advance to the concerned District Social Welfare Officer.

The scheme requires the concerned District Social Welfare Officer 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. However, to provide smooth transition in this regard, a grace period of three years, i.e., upto 31.03.2025 is being provided.

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.(KNS)