Underage applicant gets TS marriage sop

Hyderabad: Irregularities continue to surface in the implementation of Kalyana Laxmi scheme even after the government had ordered a probe in October last to check the practice. The government extends financial assistance of Rs 1,00,116 to each beneficiary under the scheme.

In the latest instance, an underage applicant secured the Kalyana Laxmi benefit in Sangareddy district.

Jinnaram mandal tahsildar in Sangareddy district P. Dasharath took up the issue with the collector on January 12. In a letter, he pointed out that the boy’s date of birth as per the SSC memo was June 19, 2000, and the marriage was conducted on December 2, 2020, when he was not yet 21.

"The father of the petitioner produced the health and age certificate dated January 10, 2022, issued by Dr V. Kavitha, civil surgeon dermatologist, District Headquarters Hospital, Sangareddy, in which the age of the applicant is (mentioned as) 22 years by appearance. Due to the issuance of age certificate by the doctor, the petitioner, as well as the political leaders of the Mandal, insisted that I sanction of financial assistance under Kalyana Laxmi,” tahsildar Dasharath wrote.

He said that instructions must be issued to the district medical and health officer, Sangareddy, not to entertain applications to issue age certificates based on appearance to get financial assistance under government schemes.

Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao had ordered a probe into the irregularities in implementation of Kalyana Laxmi and Shaadi Mubarak in October last after BJP MLA T. Raja Singh raised the issue in the Legislative Assembly.

The vigilance and enforcement department that probed the issue submitted a report to the government in October stating that 43 revenue staff — including tahsildars, revenue inspectors and villge revenue officers — resorted to irregularities in the selection of beneficiaries. The probe found that several ineligible persons had got benefits of welfare schemes by bribing revenue staff.