Government plans to hike incentives for inter-caste couples, says minister

The state tribal welfare department has proposed to increase the incentive for couples entering into inter-caste marriages from Rs 55,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh, in addition to offering other incentives, they will also get benefits such as priority in government recruitment.

This was stated by Rajkumar Badole, state minister for social justice, on Thursday, while speaking at the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute’s (BARTI) Amhi Savitrichya Leki (daughters of Savitribai Phule) event at Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Hall at Koregaon Park.

“My department has proposed to give Rs 2.5 lakh to couples entering into inter-caste marriages. The state government is also considering giving priority in government service to such youths. The children of such parents are facing many problems and therefore, the government is also planning to deposit money in the name of such children on the lines of Sukanya Samruddi Yojana,” Badole said.

The minister said that the matter was being discussed with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and a final decision on details of the scheme would be taken soon. The scheme would be named after Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s wife, late Mai Ambedkar, he said.

He said that the incentive scheme for promoting inter-caste marriages has been running since 1958 and it was amended in 2010 when the cash incentive was raised from Rs 15,000 to Rs 55,000. The government has now decided to expand the scheme in a number of ways. It is exploring the option of providing houses from the Gharkul scheme for such couples, social security for young women and temporary residence for them in government hostels, he said, adding that the government is planning to organise inter-caste marriage ‘melawas’ (gatherings) through the Samta Pratishthan located at Nagpur and the social welfare department.