Qamar-ul Islam, Minister for Municipal Administration, Minorities and Wakf, announced on Wednesday that the government would provide Rs 50,000 to each of the poor girls from the Muslim and Christian communities for their first marriage, under ‘Bidai’ scheme.





Brides with an annual family income of Rs 1.5 lakh will be eligible for the dole. The government has set aside Rs five crore for the purpose. A total of 1,000 girls will get the allowance in the first phase, the Minister told a press conference.



A total of 43 brides will get the dole in Gulbarga district, which has a minority population of 2.3 lakh. The number of beneficiaries in each district will be proportional to the population of minorities in the respective districts, he said.



He announced that it had been planned to open minorities’ welfare centres in both district and taluk levels. These centres will be housed in government buildings which will also have the offices of the departments of minorities’ welfare and wakf.



Information related to schemes for the minorities will be updated on the website concerned and e-mailed to the individuals and institutions concerned. Details on the selection of beneficiaries and on the utilisation of aid will also be uploaded on the website, to ensure transparency.



The minister said that grants amounting to Rs 4.59 crore had been given to 53 churches and community halls belonging to the Christian community.



Scholarships would also be provided to students from the Jain community, Islam said. A total of 2,000 taxis had been sanctioned by the Tourism department, with a grant of Rs two lakh to each beneficiary from the backward classes and minorities. The beneficiaries will have to bear the balance amount in instalments.



Islam said the Nagarothana project would be implemented in 19 districts, at a cost of Rs 1,400 crore.



It had already been initiated in Chikmagalur and Dharwad districts. The other districts include Haveri, Kolar, Kodagu, Hassan, Mandya, Bijapur, Mysore, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Ramanagar, Davangere, Chitradurga, Bangalore Rural and Chamarajanagar.



The project funding will be in the 50:50 ratio by the Union and State governments. Road and drainage works will be completed in these districts under the project. It will be implemented in Bidar, Bagalkot, Yadgir, Shimoga and Gadag districts too.