Govt will continue Kalyana Lakshmi, Shaadi Mubarak schemes: Ponnam | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: The Congress govt has no intention of scrapping Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes, and the budget for these schemes for the current fiscal has already been allocated and approved in the assembly, said BC welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar and animal husbandry minister Vakiti Srihari. “In fact, these schemes were started by the previous govt and are being continued by the Congress govt. The govt is proceeding with an appeal before the division bench of the high court to get the stay vacated and continue implementation of the schemes,” Ponnam said.He alleged that the GOs issued during the previous govt for implementing Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak did not have adequate legal protection, following which the HC recently stayed the operation of all eight GOs. “We are also examining the reasons for the delay in the matter. Officials are looking into whether the lapse was due to legal procedural issues or negligence on the part of officials concerned. The court had stayed the operation of eight GOs governing the Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes and posted the case for Sept 9. But a counter is being filed much before Sept 9 to ensure that the schemes continue,” Ponnam said.The BRS is trying to create a scare among the people by claiming that the Congress govt is going to discontinue Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes, Srihari said. “In fact, the fault lies with the previous BRS govt for not ensuring that the schemes had adequate legal protection. Now, the Congress govt is taking all legal steps to ensure that no such problem arises in future,” Vakiti he said. Since the Congress govt assumed office, funds for the schemes have been released through the green channel, Ponnam claimed. A petition was filed in the HC challenging the eight GOs issued regarding the Kalyana Lakshmi. Subsequently, the HC issued an interim order staying the implementation of the scheme.“We are investigating whether the failure to file a counter-affidavit earlier was due to negligence by officials or those handling legal matters for the govt. Action will be taken against those responsible,” Ponnam said. The govt remains committed to implementing the Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes.Ponnam said Rs 16,375 crore had been on the two schemes from their launch in 2014 to date, benefitting 16.7 lakh people. Giving a department-wise break up, Ponnam said the SC welfare department had spent ₹2,734 crore, benefitting 2,73,164 people; the ST welfare department had spent ₹1,801 crore, benefitting 1.7 lakh people; the BC welfare department had spent ₹7,803 crore, benefitting 7.7 lakh people; and the minority welfare department had spent ₹3,204 crore, benefitting 3.6 lakh people.