Muzaffarnagar: Under the UP government’s mass marriage scheme, as many as 92 pairs got married in Shamli on Monday but investigation has revealed that 12 pairs – which were already married – got themselves re-married in order to avail monetary incentive to the tune of Rs 35,000 each. The director of social welfare department has now ordered a probe.Under the scheme, Rs 20,000 is deposited in the girl's bank account and an amount of Rs 10,000 is spent on gifts. If the girl is a widow or a divorcee, Rs 25,000 is deposited in woman’s account and Rs 5,000 is spent on household items. Another Rs 5,000 is spent on wedding arrangements, like pandals, etc. The scheme is available for girls whose parents are residents of Uttar Pradesh and should be from below poverty line.Uttar Pradesh social welfare department director Jagdish Prasad told TOI, “I have directed Shamli’s social welfare officer to investigate the matter as soon as possible and send me a report. No such case of any already-married couple being found in a government-organised mass marriage has been reported from elsewhere in the state.”On Monday, 92 couples got married in a private banquet hall in Shamli in the presence of district administration authorities as well as local MLA and state minister Suresh Rana. Twelve of these pairs, when asked by the local media, said they were already married but were here to get hit hitched again just to receive the monetary benefit.For example, Ravi Kumar, a resident of Manakpur village who got married in December last year, told TOI, “I am here because my wife's parents had applied for Samuhik Vivah Yojana. I going to get married again today.”Anju, who goes by her first name and looked resplendent in her red bridal attire, had already got married on February 4 but was at the event to avail the scheme’s benefit. “We are here for the grant and we have been told by the social welfare department officials that we will receive the money into our bank account.”District social welfare officer Balram Kumar, however, denied the allegations. “We had invited only who those applied for this scheme. They are all poor people who earn less than 46,000 per annum. I did not come across any case where the couple was married earlier.”

Stay updated with all the Meerut Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.