Mahottari. KATHMANDU: A woman who marries above 20 years of age in Bardibas municipality of Mahottari district will receive an incentive of Rs 51,000. The announcement was made in the policy, programme and budget statement for the fiscal year 2083/84 presented at the 18th municipal assembly of the municipality.

Mayor Prahlad Kumar Chhetri said, “This kind of incentive has been introduced to reduce child marriage”, said Mayor Prahlad Kumar Chhetri, adding, “In the new fiscal year 2083/84, every girl marrying off at the age of age will get this allowance”. Chhetri believes that this will not only discourage child marriage but also help in raising awareness about the need to marry before the legal age. He said that this provision within the policy and programme presented last Tuesday has received encouragement from all sides of the society.

Earlier, on March 19, 2080, the mayor had announced cash incentive of Rs 50,000 to Musahar couples marrying before reaching the age of age. According to the records of the municipal executive office, only a couple from Bardibas-12 have claimed the incentive amount so far.

In all the 14 wards of the municipality, the Musahar community lives in all the wards. However, the fact that only one couple takes the incentive amount given to those who marry at this age can be inferred that child marriage is still prevalent among them, said Dev Narayan Mahato, a socio-political activist of Bardibas-2.

As many as 13 wards in the municipality have been declared child marriage-free in the last two years. Now, Bardibas-12 is yet to be declared a child marriage-free zone. It is expected that the provision of Rs 51,000 incentive to daughters marrying off at the age of 20 years is expected to help increase social awareness.

Mayor Chhetri clarified that although this provision is in place for the daughters of the general community of the municipality, the provision of getting both men and women in the case of the Musahar community has been retained. According to him, the Musahar community is very prevalent and provisions have been made to encourage both men and women to control it. Women’s rights activists have said that this new decision of the municipality will help in social reform.