Shaadi Mubarak turns into a farce, couples marry 'again'

The much- hyped Shaadi Mubarak scheme has turned into a scam and anti- corruption Bureau personnel have started a field level inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the selection of beneficiaries under it.

It is learnt that some of married couple got financial help under the Shaadi Mubarak scheme by tampering their date of birth and marriage dates to suites to the scheme.

Middlemen collected certificates from some of the ineligible married couples and managed to get sanctioned with the help of the Revenue and Minority welfare officials. 

The scheme, which was on October 2, 2014, enables those who got married after this date to avail of Rs 51,000 in financial assistance.        

A total of 2,908 candidates applied online for financial assistance under Shaadi Mubarak and among them 2,498 applications having been accepted so. Rs 12.7 crore have been sanctioned to the district under the scheme and Rs 12.04 crore have been released to 2,360 beneficiaries under the Shaadi Mubarak since its inceptions in the district.

A social activist belonging to Minority community observed that, the Shaadi Mubarak has observed wryly that this has turned into a scheme for aged couples in Adilabad, with a large number of already married couples benefitting by tampering with their date of birth and marriage. Many woman who had got married much before the launch of the scheme had managed to get selected for it.

He pointed out that middlemen and several officials concerned were enabling the ineligible candidates to benefit at the expense of the needy and genuine in rural areas who were not even aware of the scheme.

Photographs can’t lie and it was easy to identify those who had clearly crossed 40 years from their wedding snapshots even if they had been photographed.

During a review meeting held recently, both the ministers Allola Indrakaran Reddy and Jogu Ramanna had expressed their displeasure over irregularities in implementation of the scheme and said even women who had children were also selected for the Shaadi Mubarak scheme in the district.

There are strong allegations that dates in Nikhanama were changed and printed new wedding cards to become eligible for the scheme.

Two beneficiary in Devapur village in Talamadugu, one in Dongargoan village in Gudihathnoor and four beneficiaries in Narnoor mandal headquarters were facing allegations of fake beneficiaries.