MP govt to give 'Ladli Laxmi Friendly' tag to village panchayats fulfilling some welfare conditions              '

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday said it would declare a village panchayat as 'ladli Laxmi friendly' if no child marriage takes place there in the past one year and some other conditions are also fulfilled.

The village panchayat, to get this tag, must ensure 100 per cent primary school admission of girls, no malnourishment among girls and no crime against them in the past one year, an official said.

Beneficiaries of the state government's Ladli Laxmi scheme will be placed at the forefront to bring about change in society and their clubs will be formed to create awareness against social evils like child marriage and violence, he said.

"The MP government has distributed scholarships amounting to Rs 1.85 crore to 1,477 girls who have taken admission in graduation/ professional courses this year under the Ladli Laxmi Yojana, which was launched by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on April 1, 2007," he said.

The scheme aims to change the mindset of people towards girls and check child marriage, improve the gender ratio, ensure proper nutrition and education to girls and 100 per cent admission in primary schools, the official said.

"The state government takes responsibility for their higher education and gives each beneficiary Rs 25,000 in two installments. So far, under Mukhyamantri Ladli Laxmi Yojna, 44.82 lakh girls have been registered and scholarship amounting to Rs 366.21 crore has been given to 13.20 lakh girls," he informed.