Prisoners’ daughters to get govt aid for marriage in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala government has decided to provide financial assistance for the marriage of the daughters of those who have been undergoing imprisonment for more than two years.
The decision was taken in the wake of reports that the social and financial circumstances in the families of those who are undergoing imprisonment, is affected while looking for alliances for their daughters. Secretary (social justice and women and child development) Biju Prabhakar has issued an order in this regard that says that in the present financial year, as many as 20 such families will be offered Rs 30,000 each. The funds will be met from Rs 2.5 crore set apart for probation-related services.
The government has set certain criteria for being eligible for the assistance, the main ones being that either the father or the mother should be undergoing imprisonment for more than two years and should be categorised under the below poverty line list.
The assistance can be sought after six months of marriage and within one year. The government has made the rules liberal permitting the beneficiaries to apply for assistance even after the marriage as the parent undergoing imprisonment may not get the necessary time prior to marriage to complete all the necessary formalities as he or she would be on parole during the time of marriage.
The assistance will be offered to a maximum of two women from a family, and the application will have to be made through the respective jail superintendents. The application received will be then processed on the basis of the respective probation officers. The probation officer’s report will also decide whom to hand over the financial assistance to — father, mother, or daughter — and it will be then transferred to the respective person’s bank account.
The government is already running a scheme for providing financial assistance for supporting the education of children of those families where the father is undergoing imprisonment and the family is being run by the mother. This assistance is also offered to children of women prisoners.