Chandigarh March 24:
The cash strapped Punjab Government would have to bear extra burden of Rs 40 crore for extending the benefits under the Shagun scheme to backward classes from April 1 this year. With this, the total Budget for the scheme will mount up to Rs 130 crore annually including Rs 40 crore for the backward classes.
Over 70 lakh scheduled caste families are already getting benefits of the scheme at the time of marriage of their girls. The ambitious Shagun scheme is aimed at supporting the financially poor from the scheduled castes (SC) or Christian communities to marry-off their daughters, entitling them to the amount of Rs 15,000 at the time of marriage.
The move was initiated after over four years when some of the backward class communities, having over 25 lakh population in Punjab, raised the demand to extend the benefits of Shagun scheme to them also. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal recently announced to extend the scheme to the OBC families as well.
As of now, the authorities concerned are not sure about the exact number of beneficiaries to be covered. They are also engaged in finalising the details of the exact amount that would be paid under the scheme from now onwards. “It would, however, be not less than Rs 40 crore extra burden after the scheme is extended to OBC families,” said a senior official of the Revenue Department, requesting anonymity.
The Government had given Rs 80 crore for the scheme for 2010-11 to cover 55,000 beneficiaries. Punjab has nearly 29 per cent of SC population, with around 80 per cent living in rural areas. The SAD-BJP Government is making every attempt to plug the loopholes in the scheme. The Government has decided to disburse the compensation amount to the beneficiaries directly in their bank accounts. The scheme has always been more in controversy in view of fraudulent cases of fake beneficiaries and embezzlement of funds than for praise.
The cash strapped Punjab Government would have to bear extra burden of Rs 40 crore for extending the benefits under the Shagun scheme to backward classes from April 1 this year. With this, the total Budget for the scheme will mount up to Rs 130 crore annually including Rs 40 crore for the backward classes.
Over 70 lakh scheduled caste families are already getting benefits of the scheme at the time of marriage of their girls. The ambitious Shagun scheme is aimed at supporting the financially poor from the scheduled castes (SC) or Christian communities to marry-off their daughters, entitling them to the amount of Rs 15,000 at the time of marriage.
The move was initiated after over four years when some of the backward class communities, having over 25 lakh population in Punjab, raised the demand to extend the benefits of Shagun scheme to them also. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal recently announced to extend the scheme to the OBC families as well.
As of now, the authorities concerned are not sure about the exact number of beneficiaries to be covered. They are also engaged in finalising the details of the exact amount that would be paid under the scheme from now onwards. “It would, however, be not less than Rs 40 crore extra burden after the scheme is extended to OBC families,” said a senior official of the Revenue Department, requesting anonymity.
The Government had given Rs 80 crore for the scheme for 2010-11 to cover 55,000 beneficiaries. Punjab has nearly 29 per cent of SC population, with around 80 per cent living in rural areas. The SAD-BJP Government is making every attempt to plug the loopholes in the scheme. The Government has decided to disburse the compensation amount to the beneficiaries directly in their bank accounts. The scheme has always been more in controversy in view of fraudulent cases of fake beneficiaries and embezzlement of funds than for praise.
