Financial Assistance to Poor Widows for Marriage of their Daughters and Orphan Girls (Delhi)

What is Delhi's Widow Daughter Marriage Scheme?

Financial Assistance to Poor Widows for Marriage of their Daughters and Orphan Girls; commonly called the Delhi Widow Daughter Marriage Scheme or WDM scheme, is operated by the Department of Women and Child Development, Government of NCT of Delhi. According to the department, the aim is to give Rs 30,000 to poor widows so they can meet part of the cost of solemnising a daughter's marriage, and to give the same amount to orphan girls for their own marriage.

The reasoning behind the scheme is practical. A widow with an annual family income under Rs 1,00,000 has almost no savings buffer, and a wedding is the single largest lump-sum expense such a household faces. Without support, families routinely borrow at high interest from informal lenders. A Rs 30,000 grant does not cover a full wedding, but it covers a meaningful share of the fixed costs and reduces the size of the loan taken.

Key features

• One-time grant of Rs 30,000 per daughter.
• Available for a maximum of two daughters per widow.
• Also available to orphan girls for their own marriage.
• Strict application window: 60 days before or 60 days after the marriage.
• Paid electronically to a singly-operated, Aadhaar-linked bank account.

Who is eligible for the marriage assistance?

You can claim the Rs 30,000 if:

• You are a widow whose daughter is getting married, or an orphan girl getting married.
• You have been residing in Delhi for more than five years preceding the date of application.
• Your annual income does not exceed Rs 1,00,000 from all sources.
• The girl is above 18 years of age on the date of marriage.
• You hold a valid Aadhaar number, the department states Aadhaar is mandatory for filling the application.
• You have a singly-operated bank account in your own name for receiving payment through the electronic clearing system.
• You have a recommendation from the local MLA or MP.

You are not eligible if:

• You live outside Delhi, or cannot show five years' residence in Delhi.
• Your annual income is above Rs 1,00,000.
• The girl is below 18 on the date of marriage.
• You are claiming for a third or subsequent daughter, a widow's claim is capped at two daughters.
• You apply more than sixty days after the marriage, or more than sixty days before it.
• You only hold a joint bank account, or an account not linked to Aadhaar.

Note that a widow drawing the Delhi Pension Scheme to Women in Distress is not barred from this grant. The two are different benefits — one is a monthly pension, the other a one-time marriage grant, and the same household can legitimately receive both.

How much is paid and for how many daughters?

The assistance is Rs 30,000 per daughter, paid once. A widow may claim it for up to two daughters, so the maximum a single household can receive is Rs 60,000, and the two claims are made separately at the time each daughter's marriage is fixed. There is no partial or instalment payment; the sanctioned amount goes out as a single electronic credit to the applicant's account after verification is complete.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the Delhi widow daughter marriage assistance

1. Fix the marriage date first, then count your window: the application must reach the department at least sixty days before the marriage, or within sixty days after it.
2. Register on the Delhi e-District portal at edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in using New User Registration, with your Aadhaar number or voter ID, and log in.
3. Select Apply for Services, choose the Department of Women and Child Development, and pick the service for financial assistance for the marriage of daughters of widows and orphan girls.
4. Fill the form with your details, the daughter's name and date of birth, the date of marriage, your annual income and your bank account number with IFSC code.
5. Upload the scanned documents, Aadhaar, death certificate or orphan affidavit, marriage invitation card, the girl's age proof, five-year residence proof, bank passbook page and the MLA or MP recommendation.
6. Submit the application and save the application number on the acknowledgement.
7. Cooperate with the field verification carried out by the District WCD Officer's staff, who may visit your address.

Applications can also be filed offline by submitting the completed form and self-attested copies of all documents to the District WCD Officer for your district, or at the Department of Women and Child Development, Maharana Pratap ISBT Building, Kashmere Gate, Delhi 110006. Collect a dated receipt with the diary number.

How to check your application status

1. Log in to edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in and open Track your Application.
2. Enter the application number printed on your acknowledgement.
3. The screen shows whether the case is pending, under verification, sanctioned or rejected, and which office is currently handling it.

If the status has not moved for several weeks, take the acknowledgement to the District WCD Officer and ask for the file position in writing.

Common reasons applications are rejected

• Filed outside the sixty-day window on either side of the marriage. This is the single most common cause of rejection and cannot be cured later.
• Girl below 18 on the date of marriage.
• Claim for a third daughter, beyond the two-daughter cap.
• Income above Rs 1,00,000 a year, discovered during verification.
• Residence proof does not cover five years before the application date.
• Joint bank account, or an account not seeded with Aadhaar, so the electronic transfer cannot be made.
• Missing MLA or MP recommendation.
• Death certificate not issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths, for example only a hospital slip.
• Name mismatch between Aadhaar, the bank record and the death certificate.

Key dates to remember

There is no annual last date for the scheme, it runs throughout the year. The deadline that matters is tied to your own wedding date: the application must be submitted sixty days before or sixty days after the marriage. Start collecting the death certificate, residence proofs and the MLA or MP recommendation as soon as the date is fixed, because the recommendation and the bank account seeding are usually what take the longest.

Where to get help or complain

For questions on the form, documents or the status of a sanctioned case, contact the District WCD Officer of your district. The Department of Women and Child Development can be reached at Maharana Pratap ISBT Building, Kashmere Gate, Delhi 110006, on 011-23070378 or 011-23380513. Applying is free of charge; no official or agent may take money for processing or sanctioning this grant, and any such demand should be reported to the department in writing.