Disable Marriage Scheme (Divyang Lagna Sahay), Gujarat

What is the Disable Marriage Scheme (Divyang Lagna Sahay)?

The Disable Marriage Scheme is a cash assistance scheme of the Directorate of Social Security, called Samaj Suraksha in Gujarati, under the Social Justice and Empowerment Department of the Government of Gujarat. It is known across the state by its Gujarati name, Divyang Lagna Sahay Yojana, and sometimes as Divyang Vivah Sahay.

The scheme pays a one-time cash grant to a person with a disability when that person marries. According to the Directorate's scheme page, the amount is Rs 75,000 per person with a disability. That produces two outcomes in practice:

• Both spouses have a qualifying disability; each receives Rs 75,000, so the couple receives Rs 1,50,000 in total.
• Only one spouse has a qualifying disability, that person receives Rs 75,000, and the fact that the other spouse has no disability does not reduce or block the claim.

That second case is the important design choice in the scheme. Many marriage assistance schemes for persons with disabilities only trigger when both partners have a disability. Gujarat's scheme explicitly covers the case where a person without a disability marries a person with one, which is the direction of social change the scheme is trying to encourage.

Older scheme listings still circulating online show the amount as Rs 50,000 per person and Rs 1,00,000 per couple. The Directorate's current scheme page shows Rs 75,000 and Rs 1,50,000. Where a district office quotes the lower figure, ask which government resolution it is working from.

Which department runs it

The Directorate of Social Security in Gandhinagar administers the scheme, and the District Social Security Officer is the officer who verifies and approves individual applications. Note that the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in Gujarat is a separate office that functions as a court and does not run schemes; applications sent there will not be processed.

Who is eligible for the Divyang Lagna Sahay in Gujarat?

You can claim the assistance if:

• You are a person with a disability meeting the prescribed percentage for your disability type, certified by the Civil Surgeon.
• You are resident in Gujarat and apply in the district of your permanent residence after the marriage.
• The bride is at least 18 and the groom is at least 21 on the date of marriage.
• The marriage is registered and you apply within two years of it.
• You have not previously drawn this benefit.

Disability thresholds. The Directorate groups qualifying disabilities into three bands:

The percentage that counts is the one written on the Civil Surgeon's certificate. A certificate from a private hospital or a district-level camp that has not been attested by the Civil Surgeon is routinely returned.

You are not eligible and cannot apply if:

• Your certified disability percentage is below the threshold for your disability type. A 35 percent locomotor disability, or a 60 percent hearing impairment, does not qualify even though both are real disabilities.
• Your disability is not in the notified list covered by the scheme.
• The bride was under 18 or the groom under 21 at marriage.
• More than two years have passed since the marriage.
• You have already received this assistance for an earlier marriage. The benefit is once per person and once per couple.
• You are not resident in Gujarat, and neither spouse establishes permanent residence in a Gujarat district after the marriage.
• The marriage is not registered, so the date of marriage cannot be fixed.

How to apply for the Disable Marriage Scheme in Gujarat

The application is filed online on e-Samaj Kalyan, and can also be filed through an e-Gram centre under Digital Gujarat, which the Directorate notes allows same-day processing. Follow these steps.

1. Get the disability certificate attested by the Civil Surgeon. This is the document the whole case rests on, and it must state both the type of disability and the percentage. If your existing certificate is old or was issued by a non-competent authority, get it redone before anything else.
2. Register the marriage. Obtain the marriage registration certificate from the registrar. The date on it starts the two-year window.
3. Create an account on e-Samaj Kalyan. Go to https://esamajkalyan.gujarat.gov.in, select new user registration, and register with Aadhaar details and a working mobile number.
4. Log in and complete the user profile. The scheme form does not open until the profile, including district and bank details, is complete.
5. Select the Disable Marriage Scheme and fill the form. Enter names and dates exactly as they appear on Aadhaar and the marriage certificate.
6. Upload the documents. Disability certificate, marriage certificate, Aadhaar, age proof, residence proof, wedding photographs, bank passbook page and photographs.
7. Accept the terms, save and submit. Print the confirmation and keep the application number. Nothing can be tracked without it.

The application then reaches the District Social Security Officer, who verifies the documents, may call the couple in, and approves the sanction. Where a couple prefers to apply offline, the same documents can be taken to the District Social Security Officer's office or to an e-Gram centre, where an operator files the online form on your behalf.

What documents are needed?

• Disability certificate attested by the Civil Surgeon, showing type and percentage. Non-negotiable.
• Marriage registration certificate.
• Aadhaar card of the applicant, and normally of both spouses.
• Proof of age — school leaving certificate or birth certificate.
• Proof of residence: ration card, electricity bill, driving licence, Aadhaar or election card.
• Wedding photographs.
• Bank passbook first page or a cancelled cheque, in the name of the person with the disability, since that is who the money is paid to.
• Passport-size photograph.

Where both spouses have disabilities, two separate disability certificates are needed, and each spouse's Rs 75,000 is paid into that spouse's own account.

How do I check the status of the application?

Log back into e-Samaj Kalyan with the same login and use the application status option with the application number from the printed confirmation. The stages run from submitted, to under verification with the District Social Security Officer, to approved, to payment released.

Where the status shows approved but no credit has appeared, check the bank account details on the profile first. A closed account, a wrong IFSC, or a name mismatch between Aadhaar and the bank record are the usual causes, and they stall the payment while leaving the sanction intact. Corrected details given to the District Social Security Officer will re-trigger the transfer.

Why do Divyang Lagna Sahay applications get rejected?

• Disability percentage below the threshold. Applicants often assume any certified disability qualifies. Check your percentage against the band for your disability type before applying.
• Certificate not attested by the Civil Surgeon. A very frequent rejection, and an avoidable one.
• Applied after two years. Count from the date on the marriage registration certificate.
• Marriage not registered, so the two-year window cannot be evidenced at all.
• Age below the minimum on the date of marriage.
• Duplicate claim where the applicant has already drawn the benefit once.
• Name mismatch between Aadhaar, the disability certificate, the marriage certificate and the bank account. This is especially common where the wife's surname changed at marriage; carry an affidavit or gazette notification if the records differ.
• Wrong office. Applications sent to the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, which is a court and does not administer schemes, go nowhere.

What are the key dates?

The scheme is open all year with no annual cut-off. The binding date is personal to each couple: two years from the date of marriage. Because the disability certificate and the marriage registration can each take several weeks, the realistic advice is to start both processes in the month of the marriage rather than waiting.

Where do I complain if something goes wrong?

The first stop is the District Social Security Officer of your district of permanent residence, who holds and decides the file. Carry the application number, the disability certificate and the marriage certificate.

If the case is stuck or has been rejected on grounds you dispute, escalate to the Director, Social Security, Block No. 16, Dr Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Gandhinagar 382010, on +91 79 23256309. The e-Samaj Kalyan portal also carries a grievance facility inside the logged-in account, which produces a written record against your application number; use it alongside the district visit rather than instead of it.

No fee is payable for this application. Neither the portal nor the e-Gram centre charges for the scheme itself, and no agent is required to secure a sanction.