Dr. Dharmambal Ammaiyar Ninaivu Widow Remarriage Assistance Scheme-I

What is the Dr. Dharmambal Ammaiyar Ninaivu Widow Remarriage Assistance Scheme-I?

Dr. Dharmambal Ammaiyar Ninaivu Widow Remarriage Assistance Scheme-I is the base track of a remarriage grant run by the Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department, Government of Tamil Nadu. Its objective, as the department states it, is to encourage widow remarriage and to rehabilitate widows by giving financial assistance. The scheme is also written in transliteration as the "Dr. Dharmambal Ammaiyar Ninaivu Vidhavai Marumana Udhavi Thittam".

The department runs the grant in two tracks:

• Scheme-I: Rs 25,000: of which Rs 15,000 is released through Electronic Clearing Service and Rs 10,000 is held as a National Savings Certificate in the post office in the bride's name: together with one sovereign, 8 grams of a 22-carat gold coin, for the thirumangalyam. No educational qualification is required.
• Scheme-II: Rs 50,000; Rs 30,000 by ECS and Rs 20,000 as an NSC bond, with the same gold coin, for a widow holding a degree or a recognised diploma.

This guide covers Scheme-I, the Rs 25,000 track.

Two features of the design are worth understanding before applying. First, the split payment is deliberate. Handing the whole grant over as cash at the time of a wedding tends to mean the money goes into the wedding. Holding Rs 10,000 as a post office National Savings Certificate in the bride's own name leaves her with an asset that matures later, the rehabilitative half of the scheme's purpose, as distinct from the celebratory half.

Second, this grant is filed after the marriage, not before it. The department's marriage assistance schemes for first marriages are filed 40 days ahead of the wedding. This one is filed within 6 months after the remarriage, because what has to be proved is that the remarriage actually happened.

The scheme carries the name of Dr. Dharmambal Ammaiyar, a leading figure of the Self-Respect Movement in Tamil Nadu who campaigned for widow remarriage and women's education.

Who is eligible for the widow remarriage assistance?

You are eligible if:

• You are a widow and can produce the death certificate of your first husband.
• You have remarried, and can prove the remarriage through a marriage registration certificate, or through the marriage invitation with photographs.
• You are 20 years of age or above on the date of the remarriage.
• The bridegroom is within the age condition the department applies to this grant; confirm the current age clause with your District Social Welfare Officer.
• You apply within 6 months of the remarriage.
• You are a resident of Tamil Nadu and apply through the district in which you live.
• You hold a bank account in your own name for the ECS component.

There is no income ceiling and no educational requirement under Scheme-I. The department records that neither is prescribed for this scheme.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You are not a widow. A divorced or deserted woman is not eligible under this head, since the grant is specifically for widow remarriage.
• You cannot prove the first husband's death with a registered death certificate.
• The remarriage cannot be proved because it was neither registered nor documented. Register the remarriage; it is the single most useful thing an applicant can do.
• More than 6 months have passed since the remarriage.
• The bride was below 20 years on the date of remarriage.
• You have already received assistance under this or a sibling Tamil Nadu marriage assistance scheme.
• You hold a degree or diploma — again, not a disqualification, but you are underclaiming by Rs 25,000 and should file under Scheme-II instead.

How to apply for the Dr. Dharmambal Ammaiyar remarriage assistance

1. Register the remarriage at the office of the Registrar of Marriages as soon as it takes place, and obtain the marriage registration certificate. This one step eliminates most of the evidentiary problems that sink these applications.
2. Obtain the first husband's death certificate from the local body that registered the death, if you do not already hold it.
3. Open a bank account in your own name if you do not have one, and seed it with your Aadhaar number. The Rs 15,000 ECS credit goes to the bride, not to the household.
4. Collect the application form from the District Social Welfare Officer at the district headquarters or the Extension Officer (Social Welfare) at your block. The form is free. Several districts also accept submission through e-Sevai centres or Common Service Centres.
5. Fill the form and attach the documents: first husband's death certificate, remarriage proof, age proofs of bride and bridegroom, Aadhaar, bank passbook, residence proof and photographs. Self-attest every photocopy.
6. Submit within 6 months of the remarriage and collect an acknowledgement with the date of receipt.
7. Attend any verification the Extension Officer (Social Welfare) carries out.
8. Collect the components. The Rs 15,000 arrives by ECS in the bride's bank account; the Rs 10,000 National Savings Certificate is issued in her name at the post office; and the 8-gram gold coin is handed over through the district office.

What documents does the department ask for?

How do I check the status of my application?

Tamil Nadu does not run an online tracker for the marriage assistance schemes. The chain is offline:

• Block level: the Extension Officer (Social Welfare) who received the file.
• District level: the District Social Welfare Officer, who sanctions it.
• e-Sevai centre, if you submitted there. The centre can retrieve the application status against the acknowledgement.
• Payment: watch the bank account for the Rs 15,000 ECS credit, and ask the district office when the National Savings Certificate and the gold coin will be handed over. The three components do not always arrive together.

Why widow remarriage assistance applications get rejected

• Filed after 6 months. The most common ground. The clock runs from the date of the remarriage, not from the date the applicant hears about the scheme.
• Remarriage not registered or not provable. Photographs alone are often questioned; a marriage registration certificate is not.
• First husband's death not registered. Where the death was never registered, apply for late registration with the local body before filing the grant application.
• Bride below 20 years on the date of remarriage.
• Bridegroom outside the age condition applied by the department.
• Bank account problems. ECS fails on a name mismatch, a dormant account or a wrong IFSC code. The bride's name in the bank record should match her Aadhaar.
• Duplicate claim under a sibling marriage assistance scheme for the same marriage.

What are the key figures?

• Scheme-I total: Rs 25,000 to Rs 15,000 by ECS and Rs 10,000 as an NSC bond.
• Scheme-II total: Rs 50,000 to Rs 30,000 by ECS and Rs 20,000 as an NSC bond.
• Gold coin: 1 sovereign, 8 grams, 22 carat, under both tracks.
• Minimum age of the bride: 20 years on the date of remarriage.
• Income limit: none.
• Educational requirement under Scheme-I: none.
• Filing window: within 6 months after the remarriage.

Where do I raise a grievance?

• District level: the District Social Welfare Officer, or the District Collector at the weekly grievance day.
• State level: the Commissioner of Social Welfare, Commissionerate of Social Welfare, Lady Willington College Campus, Kamarajar Salai, Chennai 600 005.
• Women's helpline: 181, available round the clock for any coercion, harassment or threat connected with a widow's remarriage.

No fee is payable for the form, the scrutiny, the National Savings Certificate or the gold coin. The application is issued free through the District Social Welfare Officer and the Extension Officer (Social Welfare), and any demand for money to move a file should be reported in writing to the District Collector.