Telangana to Appeal High Court Stay on Kalyana Lakshmi Scheme: Minister

HYDERABAD — Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Monday said that the Telangana government remains committed to implementing the Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes and will appeal against a High Court order staying the welfare initiative.

Speaking in Hyderabad, Prabhakar said a petition had been filed in the Telangana High Court challenging eight Government Orders (GOs) issued in connection with the Kalyana Lakshmi scheme. Following the court's interim stay order, the State government plans to challenge the decision before a Division Bench and hopes for a favourable verdict.

The Minister attributed the ongoing legal complications to what he described as "defective" GOs issued by the previous government when the scheme was launched in 2014. He said the current Congress administration will rectify these shortcomings to ensure that the welfare programmes continue without interruption.

Prabhakar also noted that the government is examining whether the failure to file a counter affidavit in the High Court case resulted from a lapse by officials or by those managing the government's legal matters. He stated that strict action will be taken against anyone found responsible for the oversight.

Defending the initiatives, the Minister said the government is releasing funds for both schemes through the green channel so that eligible families continue to receive support. The schemes were formulated to reduce the financial burden on poor families during the marriages of their daughters.

According to official government figures, Rs 16,375.87 crore has been spent under the Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes so far, benefiting 16,78,347 beneficiaries. Prabhakar emphasised that the initiatives are pure welfare measures and were not intended to enforce any specific legislation.

He added that the State government holds full constitutional authority under Article 162 to formulate and execute such public welfare programmes through executive orders within its jurisdiction, regardless of political considerations.