Rupasree Scheme: ‘Over 23K girls benefitted in Kolkata in past 3 yrs’

Kolkata: More than 23,000 girls belonging to the lower income group have reaped the benefits of the state government’s “Rupashree” Scheme in Kolkata in the past three years.

In the last one year, nearly 3,400 girls availed the benefits of the scheme in the city only. This scheme of the state government has emerged as one of the key initiatives that financially helped unprivileged parents to arrange for their daughters’ marriage with the help of it.

The scheme, a brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was launched from April 1, 2018 and provides for a one-time financial assistance of Rs 25,000 to the family of a girl at the time of her marriage if her family income is less than Rs 1,50,000 per year. It has become a hit ever since it was launched.

To avail the benefits under this scheme, the beneficiaries must be permanent residents of West Bengal and above 18 years at the time of their marriage with a cap on the annual family income of Rs 1.5 lakh. No minimum educational qualifications are required to apply for the scheme.

According to a senior official of the state Women & Child Development department many poor families find it extremely difficult to bear the expenditure of marriage of their daughters and have to borrow money at a high rate of interest to bear the expenses.

In Kolkata, the service is extended by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

In several cases, the department disburses money to the beneficiary’s account on the very day of the wedding, in cases when applications are received seven days earlier to ensure that the family of the bride is not inconvenienced. The authorities conduct an enquiry to ascertain if the applicants are genuine beneficiaries before disbursing the fund. Hence, it is preferred that applications should be made within a period of 30 to 60 days before marriage.