Mediators’ cut, vote bank politics behind Rs 72.91 crore discrepancy in Telangana’s marriage welfare scheme

Hyderabad: The latest Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report for Telangana has flagged a massive mismatch in the state’s welfare distribution concerning marriages sponsored by government benefits.

Some of the issues in the implementation include extending marriage benefits to minors instead of flagging the marriage, taking ‘KCR Kits’ during baby delivery and then registering marriage for the sake of receiving Kalyana Lakshmi–Shaadi Mubarak benefits, among other irregularities.

The recent CAG Report on Compliance Audit for the period ended March 2022 has revealed serious financial irregularities and a lack of internal controls in the implementation of the Kalyana Lakshmi Pathakam scheme.

What is Telangana’s Kalyana Lakshmi scheme?

The Kalyana Lakshmi scheme or the Shaadi Mubarak scheme provides financial assistance for couples for the wedding of up to Rs 1,00,116 to alleviate financial distress in SC/ST and minority families.

Date of baby's delivery before marriage date?

In a significant finding, the CAG compared the data of the Kalyana Lakshmi scheme with that of the KCR Kit scheme, intended for pregnant women and newborns.

The audit found that in 7,314 cases across the state, the date of delivery, as per KCR Kit data, was before the date of marriage registered under the Kalyana Lakshmi scheme.

Since the names of the husbands also matched in these cases, the audit concluded that the marriages likely took place before the dates mentioned in the applications, or the certificates were manipulated to claim the benefit.

This discrepancy alone involves a total financial implication of Rs 72.91 crore.

Illegal marriages of minors flagged

The audit further flagged that the system lacks validation controls to verify the age of the bride or the legitimacy of the marriage.

In a test check of 5,522 cases, the CAG identified that benefits were extended to ineligible beneficiaries, including underage brides and families whose income exceeded the eligibility criteria.

This resulted in a wrongful expenditure of Rs 55.12 crore.

Specifically, the report noted instances of brides being younger than 18 at the time of marriage. Instead of the marriage being reported as a criminal offence and punishable under Section 94 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, the government processed financial incentives for them.

High-income families also received benefits

The CAG found that income certificates were often not verified properly.

In 62 per cent of the verified cases, which is 3,331 out of 5,400, beneficiaries submitted the bride’s income certificate instead of the parents’, involving Rs 33.25 crore in benefits that were cleared despite violating government orders.

The report highlighted that the lack of online transfers and a transparent grievance redressal system led to the delayed distribution of cheques. This gap allowed room for intermediaries to exploit the beneficiaries.

Local pressure from politicians leading to misuse of welfare

While the report highlights data discrepancies, ground-level researchers and activists point to a deeper systemic issue involving political pressure and a lack of public trust.

“On the ground, there is immense pressure on Mandal Revenue Officers (MROs) from local representatives to clear applications even when eligibility is questionable,” says a ground-level activist and researcher, Archana Manukonda.

She further added that, “There is a drive to ‘exhaust funds’ because large sums are released, and leaders want to ensure their constituencies receive the maximum benefit to secure vote banks.”

The activist further added that mediators often take ‘commissions’ ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 from the beneficiaries and push the files through their network.

What does CAG recommend?

The CAG has recommended that the State government investigate all ineligible cases and fix responsibility on the officials responsible for these lapses.

It also urged the government to establish a robust internal control mechanism by cross-checking databases of different schemes (like KCR Kit and ePASS) to validate beneficiary data automatically.