J&K Government has extended ‘Ladli Beti’, an incentive scheme for the girl child, to Srinagar district.
The scheme launched initially in six districts of the state earlier this month is aimed to reverse the declining child sex ratio that had plunged below the national average of 943.
In the 2011 census, the sex ratio slipped in J&K to 889 females per 1,000 males from 901 in 2001.
A senior official of the Social Welfare Department said the government had extended the scheme to Srinagar district where the sex ratio, as per the 2011 census, was 900.
Khurshid Alam, a senior leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), hailed the government’s decision to extend the scheme to Srinagar.
“Such measures will prove fruitful and result-oriented for Srinagar wherein people were craving for such schemes,” Alam said. He also hailed the efforts of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to introduce the scheme for Srinagar.
The scheme was launched in Kathua, Jammu, Samba, Budgam, Pulwama and Anantnag districts. Under the scheme, the state will contribute Rs 1,000 each month for each girl for 14 years. The girls born after April 1 this year, with annual family income of Rs 75,000 or below, will avail the benefits of scheme. A girl will get Rs 6.25 lakh under the scheme when she turns 21.
