Differently-abled couples struggle as benefits promised by Tamil Nadu government are delayed

Shockingly, none of them received the gold coin.

A South First investigation found that the Tamil Nadu government has not been providing the gold coin to differently-abled couples for the past two years, especially after the DMK came to power in 2021.

We reached out to 16 of the 51 married couples. None of them had received a gold coin and only five couples received the financial assistance.

Related: Telangana hikes pension for differently-abled to ₹4,016/month

A fresh start

For many of the differently-abled couples who got married at the event, like Gobinath R (36) and Elammalal K (35), financial assistance was meant to alleviate their debt burden.

Gobinath has a hearing impairment and Elammal has a speech and hearing impairment.

Ecstatic that their wedding was attended by the chief minister, the couple was certain about receiving the money and the gold coin. They even made plans for the use to which the money would be put: Renting a home within the Chennai city limits.

Gobinath’s father Ravi Chandran M told South First: “Elammal commutes 30 km and back from their home near Poonamalle to reach her office in Taramani. They cannot afford a home near her office as rent deposits are high.”

Gobinath has been struggling to get a job for the past six months, and their family scrapes by on Elammal’s meagre income.

The couple has been waiting desperately for the due cash support of ₹50,000 from the Tamil Nadu government for eight months now.

“Only when they receive the money will they be able to afford a home in the city,” said Ravi Chandran, as the couple had trouble conversing with this reporter.

K Elammal and R Gobinath are yet to receive the cash support of ₹50,000 and a 8 gram gold coin from the Tamil Nadu government. (Supplied)

The couple, like others, submitted the necessary documents to the concerned department before the wedding.

While their wait is only eight months, there are couples who have been waiting for more than three years for their share of assistance.

The 51 couples who got married in November 2022 did not have to bear any wedding expenses as it was facilitated by a non-profit organisation, but that is generally not the case for the others.

Parameswari E (name changed on request), a visually-impaired woman from Madurai, has been visiting the local Taluka Office for four years — ever since she got married in August 2019.

“It is such a tough ordeal to go to the office regularly, only to be disappointed in the end. The officials always say that I have to wait for another three months,” said Parameswari.

She got married to Kumaran (name changed), who works as an electrician. “I don’t have a job. My husband’s income is not enough to pay the rent and clear our debts. We are still repaying the debts incurred due to the wedding,” she said.

What was promised?

Not just the couples from the mass wedding ceremony, none of the beneficiaries received the gold coin in two years. (Supplied)

The Tamil Nadu government has clear guidelines on what the couple participating in its mass marriage scheme would receive.

Differently-abled couples who do not hold a degree would receive ₹25,000 and an 8-gram gold coin.

Meanwhile, ₹50,000 and an 8-gram gold coin would be provided if the couple are degree-holders.

Those eligible for this scheme are anyone who marries a visually-impaired person, orthopaedically differently-abled person, or a speech and hearing-impaired person.

These also include a differently-abled person who marries another differently-abled person.

Applications for the benefits are to be submitted within a year of the wedding.

“The Tamil Nadu government introduced the gold coin for differently-abled couples in 2016. There have been discrepancies in the gold coin ever since the DMK came to power in 2021,” said S Namburajan, president of the Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently Abled & Caregivers (TARATDAC).

Also read: Tamil Nadu announces hike in pension for the differently-abled

The significance of the gold

Couples who received cash support managed to turn their lives around.

Priya M, a 32-year-old visually-challenged woman, and Subramani D (36) from Tiruppur were among the five couples among the 16 this reporter contacted who received the cash support.

As neither of them were graduates, they received cash support of ₹25,000, but it came five months after the wedding.

“We spent ₹5,500 on buying a new iron box for my husband. We were able to set up a street-side ironing shop with that money. We have a regular income now,” Priya told South First.

They used the rest of the money to move into a better home.

The couple did not receive the gold coin. Priya now wears a yellow thread, which she hopes to replace with a gold chain made from the gold that the state government promised.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu widows pin their hopes on new govt scheme

‘Never owned a gram of gold’

Finding a companion is a difficult task for differently-abled people.

The majority of them this reporter spoke to are financially weak and struggling to make ends meet. They found their companions through swayamvaram (a private event where people can choose their partners) organised by non-profit organisations.

As taking gold to the in-laws’ home is considered a cultural obligation for women in many Indian states, including Tamil Nadu, they feel that the government’s scheme would help them gain self-respect in their new homes.

For some of them, the gold coin is also a way to clear their marriage debts. However, the gold coin remains elusive.

Jayanthi (31), an orthopaedically-handicapped person, received cash support of ₹50,000 but not the gold coin. She got married in June 2021.

“I never owned a gram of gold in my life. It has always been my dream to wear a gold chain,” Jayanthi said.

Ramesh K (41) and Malar A (39) from Madurai are struggling to make ends meet with their temporary jobs. They submitted the necessary forms at the Madurai Taluka Office in January this year, two months after they got married.

“I could study further and prepare for government exams if I get the cash support or the gold from the government,” Malar told South First.

Also read: ‘Nobody will be able to save democracy if BJP wins again’

Lapses on the ground

The Tamil Nadu government led by Chief Minister MK Stalin announced 45 schemes for the differently-abled in the past two years. But on the ground, there are major lapses in these government orders being translated to reality, said P Simmichandran, the president of Tamil Nadu Differently-abled Federation and Charitable Trust.

“At least 600 differently-abled people (300 couples) get married every year, and none received the gold coin in the past two years,” he said.

The confusion surrounding the distribution of benefits appears to lie between the Social Welfare Department and the Directorate for Welfare of the Differently-Abled.

While the government order from two years ago stated that the latter should handle the process, couples are being redirected to the former. This lack of clarity is impeding the timely distribution of benefits to those in need.

South First reached out to Department for the Welfare of Differently-Abled Deputy Director G Ravindranath Singh persons for a comment.

“As many as 1,300 couples applied for financial assistance in the past three years. We disbursed the cash component to all of them. However, we are yet to provide the gold coin to them as the Social Welfare Department is helping us procure them,” said Singh.

When informed that a lot of beneficiaries said they had not received even the cash component, Singh said that they could be among the few cases where the district-level officers of the department would want to distribute cash and gold at the same time.

“We will disburse gold coins to the beneficiaries by the end of August,” he told South First.