200 inter-caste couple await grant of ₹50,000 in Sangrur, Barnala

District welfare officers admit that couple in Barnala, Sangrur are yet to be given the help; applicants from Sunam etc also claim that nothing is in their hands as the applications have been forwarded to the headoffice

Sangrur Five years after they broke a social ‘taboo’ by marrying outside their caste, over 200 couples have been awaiting ₹50,000 as one-time financial grant from the government in Sangrur and Barnala districts. The money is part of a Central scheme in which the ratio of contribution is 50%, for the state as well as the Centre. Sources in the district welfare government said the applications filed till 2014-2015 had been cleared, with funds awaited for couples who had applied after that.

Over 200 inter-caste couples in Barnala, Sangrur are awaiting money due to them under the scheme in which both Centre and states contribute 50% each. (HT PHOTO FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY)

As per the district welfare department, overall, 200 couples applied for this government assistance in Sangrur, but only 50 received the scheme benefit; 150 are waiting. In Barnala, 31 cases were cleared, but 55 continue to wait.

In 2011, the Centre had doubled the benefit amount from ₹25,000 to ₹50,000. Dheeraj Kumar, of Sunam, who hails from the backward class and married an SC woman in 2014, said he had applied in 2016 but he has not received any government assistance to date.

“My son is three-and-a-half-years old. I have visited officials concerned three times, but they used to say ‘the money has not been sanctioned by higher authorities’. I am not sure whether they (government) will grant financial aid or not,” added Kumar.

Sarabjit Singh, of Sangrur district, got married in 2015 with a SC woman. Their daughter is now nearly 5. “I do odd jobs and earn around ₹10,000 per month. I submitted all documents in 2016, but I have not received any help from the government. Whenever I ask for financial assistance, the officials told me that they have sent my case and nothing is in their hand,” he added.

Paramjit Kaur, an SC activist, said, “Inter-caste married couples need financial aid immediately after the knot, as then they face opposition from family and society.”

Kamaljit Raju, district welfare officer Barnala, said, “To avail the scheme, one person should be from SC community and their partner should be a non-SC, whether BC or General. As of today, 55 cases are with the head office.”

Sangrur DWO Gurinder Singh Dhaliwal said that the government gives ₹30,000 cash and ₹20,000 as fixed deposit (FD). “We have given the benefit of the scheme to 50 couples; 150 are waiting.”