702 beneficiaries receive Rs 14.49L marriage assistance

In a bid to remove the pendency increasing over the last two years in the State government’s marriage assistance scheme, Commercial Taxes Minister KC Veeramani handed over marriage assistance as gold and cash component to 702 women from seven panchayat unions in the district on Saturday evening.

Speaking on the occasion, Veeramani said, the government has so far disbursed Rs 272 crore marriage assistance both in cash and gold components since 2011. He said, in the current year the government planned to provide marriage assistance to 3,000 women at an estimated cost of Rs 17.59 crore. Out of the total Rs 17.59 crore, the government had apportioned Rs 10.54 crore to be disbursed as cash and Rs 7.04 crore as gold component.

The minister in the first batch, hence handed over the aid to 702 beneficiaries from the Madanur, Sholingur, Kaveripakkam, Nemili, Gudiyattam, Pernambut and Alangayam panchayat unions in the district, at an estimated cost of Rs 14.49 lakhs.

Those who participated include collector SA Raman, G Hari MP and MLAs S Ravi (Arakkonam) and G Loganatha (KV Kuppam) and Vellore cooperative sugar mill chairman M Anandan. Earlier district social welfare officer V Shanthi welcomed the gathering.

It maybe recalled that officials revealed, due to the backlog in the purchase of limited number of gold coins annually under Moovalur Ramamirtham memorial marriage scheme, there was a two-year delay in the disbursal of benefits to the targeted masses. Earlier when questioned, the officials promised that funds would be released soon after the relief measures of Cyclone Gaja. The official also stated that based on seniority all beneficiaries would get the assistance.