Shadi Mubarak: J&K govt paid Rs 50k to 10,000 underprivileged girls as marriage assistance this year

SRINAGAR, Dec 22: Wedding bells are ringing for poor girls in Jammu and Kashmir.

Thanks to Jammu and Kashmir government which has put the State Marriage Assistance Scheme (SMAS) on the fast track. 

More than 10,000 girls have been provided financial assistance this year. Each underprivileged girl of legally marriageable age has been provided one-time financial assistance of Rs 50,000. 

This follows alarming reports of late marriages and high infertility rate in Jammu and Kashmir.

“We have done away with the survey part. Now Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) or Priority Household (PHH) ration card holders are eligible. The process is entirely online and the applicant does not need to go to any office. We are paying before marriage and not after,” Sheetal Nanda, Commissioner Secretary, Social Welfare Department, told The Kashmir Monitor.

Nanda said the eligible applicants are being paid Rs 50,000 in one go. “Around 10,000 cases have been cleared this year. Each has been Rs 50,000 in one go,” she said.

Earlier this year,  Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Council headed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha restructured the State Marriage Assistance Scheme to provide benefits to all AAY and PHH families.

 The number of beneficiaries has been swelling for the last few years.  Official records suggest that more than 37000 persons have benefited under the scheme since its inception with the cumulative financial assistance of Rs 144.30 crore provided to the beneficiaries.  “In 2020-21, the J&K government sanctioned 8254 cases and assisted Rs 32.78 crore. In Kashmir division, the department sanctioned 4940 cases, releasing marriage aid of Rs 19.58 crore,”  an official said.

Thirty-two years of turmoil have torn apart the social fabric in Kashmir. Late marriages, infertility, and depleting sex ratio have become rampant in Kashmir.   National Family Health Survey data for 2019-20 has revealed that J&K has one of the lowest fertility rates in the country. J&K has also recorded the highest decline in the fertility rate between the 2015-16 survey and the latest one. In 1991, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in Jammu and Kashmir was 3.6. It declined to 2.3 in 2007 and now it has started to ring alarm bells in society.

Besides late marriages, age, stress, and obesity are also the reasons for infertility in Kashmir. Many women in the valley now marry in their 30s and want to start a family a few years later. However, by this time the quality of eggs produced by the ovaries get affected.  The financial position plays a key role in delaying the marriages of girls belonging to the financially weaker sections. This leads to many social, psychological, and biological problems. To ensure that every beneficiary avails the financial assistance, Jammu and Kashmir government has asked the district administration to submit the cases every fortnightly. “Marriage between 30 and 35 has become normal. One of the reasons is financial constraints. This scheme is to address the financial aspect. There is no age bar for the girls to get benefits under this scheme,” said Mohammad Ashraf, deputy director, Social Welfare department.