Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday announced that his government would provide monthly stipends to all girl students from class 11 to post-graduation for the next five years, aiming to prevent child marriages.

Addressing a press conference, Sarma said the scheme, ‘Nijut Moina’, was approved by the cabinet, which estimated that Rs 1,500 crore would be required in five years to give the incentives to around 10 lakh girls.

“The scheme is against child marriage. A married girl will not get the benefit. The only exception will be those married girls who are enrolled in PG courses, they will also benefit,” he said.

The sole aim of this scheme is to delay the marriage of a girl so that she can be financially independent and start earning for herself and her family, Sarma said.

“The scheme Nijut Moina is a disincentive policy against child marriage. We believe that the scheme will increase the gross enrollment ratio of girls substantially. We often see that many poor families cannot send their daughters to college and university due to financial constraints,” he asserted.

All girls studying higher secondary or in classes 11 and 12 will get Rs 1,000 every month, it will be Rs 1,250 for degree students and Rs 2,500 for girls doing post-graduation, Sarma said.

“Except for daughters of ministers, MLAs and MPs, and those students studying in private colleges and universities, all girls irrespective of their financial background will be included in the scheme. The students involved in ragging, indiscipline, lack of attendance or failure in a course will not be renewed for the stipend,” he added.

In June and July, during summer vacation, no money will be given. The stipend will be deposited to the bank accounts of the students for 10 months in a year, the CM said.

Another condition to avail the incentive is the student has to opt out from the benefit of the scooty scheme, under which all girls obtaining 60 per cent in class 12 board examination are offered a two-wheeler.

“A girl can avail only one of the two schemes and it is completely up to them. Usually, around 50,000 girls receive the scooty,” Sarma said.

The distribution of forms for ‘Nijut Moina’ will start from July and the first installment will be disbursed in October after necessary scrutiny of the documents, he added.

Talking about the financial load due to the scheme, Sarma said Rs 300 crore will be spent in the first year covering around two lakh girls.

“The scheme will continue for five years and will be reviewed thereafter for its impact on curbing child marriage. We strongly believe that if we can bring the girls to colleges in the next five years, child marriages will be stopped to a large extent.

“During this period, we estimate that a total of Rs 1,500 crore will be required,” he added.

Talking about another cabinet decision, the Chief Minister said that both boys and girls securing more than 75 per cent marks will receive Rs 10,000 as a one-time financial grant under the Anundoram Borooah scheme from this academic year.

“From next academic year, scooters will be distributed to both boy and girl students who secure more than 75 per cent marks,” he added.

Source: PTI

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