Marriage of over 54,000 girls have been solemnised during the last nine years under the ‘Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah Yojana’ launched by the Woman and Child Development department of the Chhattisgarh Government.
The ‘Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah Yojana’ has been launched in the State in 2005-06 to solve financial difficulties in the marriage of girls of poor families, to promote mass marriage, to stop dowry system and to encourage simple marriages.
Officers of the Woman and Child Development department said that total 7,818 girls have entered into family life in mass marriage functions in the year 2013-14. Whereas, marriage of 4,535 girls have been solemnised in 2005-06; 4,595 in 2006-07; 5,430 in 2007-08; 4,468 in 2008-09; 4,619 in 2009-10; 4,410 in 2010-11; 8,662 in 2011-12 and 9,519 in 2012-13.
According to prescribed eligibility, maximum two girls of over 18 years of age of below poverty line families could get benefits of this scheme. The girl and her family should be resident of Chhattisgarh. Under the scheme, a provision of maximum Rs 15,000 could be spent in the marriage of one girl.
Under the scheme, financial assistance of Rs 11,500 will be given as kind and Rs 1,000 as bank draft, whereas, the remaining Rs 2,500 will be spent in the organisation of mass marriage.