CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has ordered the authorities concerned of the state government to distribute the marriage assistance of cash and gold under the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Ninaivu Marriage Welfare Fund to a woman who was denied the aid citing conversion of the scheme into Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Higher Education Assurance Scheme.
Justice M Dhandapani passed the orders recently on a petition filed by J Praveena of Pernampet in Tirupathur district.
She (petitioner) had submitted an application for assistance of Rs 50,000 cash and eight grams of gold for her marriage on July 29, 2019, under the marriage welfare fund scheme, ahead of her wedding. As her parents – employed as daily wage workers in a beedi making unit – were poor, she tried to get the assistance. But her efforts went in vain as the authorities put the application on hold.
Her counsel A Suresh Sakthi Murugan told the court that a representation was again made to the authorities on September 3, 2024, but they informed her (on October 28, 2024) that the scheme was converted into a new educational assistance scheme (launched on September 5, 2022) and so the aid could not be given.
He contended that the fault lies with the authorities concerned for putting the application on hold for six years.
The judge remarked it is only because of the lethargy and inaction on the part of the revenue authorities that the petitioner was not given the benefits of the scheme. The special government pleader was not in a position to explain why the application was kept pending for more than six years.
Noting that the government could not give any satisfactory explanation, the judge said the petitioner cannot be burdened with the defects raised by the government now.
Holding that the petitioner is entitled to the benefits of Rs 50,000 cash and eight grams of gold under the old scheme, the judge ordered the authorities to give them to her within a week. He warned that if the authorities failed to do so, it would be dealt with in a serious manner.