A major scam has emerged in the Chief Minister's Mass Marriage Scheme in Sultanpur, UP. Mothers of two children were also remarried under this scheme. After the mass-scale corruption was exposed, the District Magistrate took action against the block-level officer.
34 Married Women Remarried
Astonishingly, a total of 34 cases have surfaced in Sultanpur where mothers of two children were given benefits under the Chief Minister's Mass Marriage Scheme. This issue pertains to the Baldirai and Kudwar blocks.
According to reports, the social welfare officer displayed negligence. Following the uproar, the District Magistrate suspended the village development officer and recommended action against the ADO, ordering an investigation. Under the scheme, each couple receives ₹51,000.
Fake Marriages Performed on 11-12 July
On 11 July, 81 couples in Baldirai and on 12 July, 67 couples in Kudwar were married through the Chief Minister's Mass Marriage Scheme. In both places, a substantial amount of government funds was misappropriated.
Sarita and Shanti, residents of Mahuli village in Baldirai, are sisters-in-law. Sarita married Raju eight years ago and has two sons. The elder son is five years old, and the younger is around seven months old. On 12 July in Kudwar, Sarita was remarried to her own husband.
The daughter of a man named Bhagelu, Shanti, was also remarried on the same day though she was originally married five years ago in Umra village and has a one-year-old son. Many such women under the program were remarried even though they were already married and mothers of several children.
No Verification Conducted
On 11 and 12 July, 24 marriages were conducted in Mahuli Gram Panchayat and 10 in Bhakhri. However, the list of beneficiaries on the website for Bhakhri includes four to five women from Mahuli. Bhakhri's head representative Suraj Vaish and Mahuli's head representative Shiv Singh confirmed that earlier the secretary used to verify information with them, but this time it did not happen.
Rules of the Mass Marriage Program
According to the rules, applications received on the portal are sent to the ADO (Social Welfare) by the Block Development Officer, and then the BDO gets them verified by the village secretary and reports online. However, Rahul Yadav stated that no verification was done.
Now, following the scam's exposure, Kudwar Block Development Officer Neelima Gupta has been appointed as the investigating officer. District Social Welfare Officer Amit Kumar Singh mentioned that Assistant Development Officer Social Welfare in Baldirai, Abhishek Giri, has been suspended on the District Magistrate's orders and recommended for further action through the CDO.
