Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao seems to have several sops under his sleeve. He is taking one after the other, as the elections to the state assembly are fast approaching.
On Monday, KCR announced yet another populist scheme – enhancing the amount of being given to poor woman under Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubaarak schemes towards their marriage expenses by Rs 25,000, as a wedding gift.
Hitherto, the government was providing financial assistance of Rs 75,116 to each poor woman at the time of marriage towards marriage expenses. Now, it has gone up to Rs 1,00,116 to meet the growing marriage expenses.
KCR announced in the state assembly that the decision to introduce financial assistance schemes for poor women was taken in order to check female infanticide.
“In our society marriage is a costly affair. Hence, marriage of the girl has become burden for the poor parents. As a result, they have been considering girls as a big burden on their heads.
Fearing that they might not be able to perform the marriages of their daughters when they grow up, these parents were resorting to infanticide to get rid of girl children.
Now that the government itself is bearing most of the marriage expenses, they can no more feel girl child as a burden” he said.
The Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubaarak schemes were introduced in October 2014, according to which each poor bride will get financial assistance of Rs 51,000. Last year, the amount was increased to Rs 75,116, as the marriage expenses have gone up.
Till now, 3.60 lakh people got benefitted from these schemes and they have been given cheques at the time of marriage itself.
