The Uttarakhand government will not give the benefits of its jobs and social welfare schemes to those not registering their marriages once the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is enforced in October. The UCC manual being prepared by the state government will make it mandatory for all married couples to register their marriages within a stipulated period.
The UCC Act 2024, enacted by the Pushkar Singh Dhami government, will deny benefits from state-run social welfare schemes and employment opportunities to unregistered married couples once the new law is enforced. This decision was made during a high-level meeting of senior government officials, led by UCC member Shatrughna Singh and Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, on Friday. The meeting was held to deliberate on the preparation of the manual for implementing the UCC in October as planned by the state government.
Shatrughna Singh and other UCC members present at the meeting informed the officials and departmental chiefs that the government could use UCC provisions to make marriage registration compulsory for all in the state. Besides, the UCC members suggested that to ensure strict implementation of the UCC, the government could deny employment opportunities and benefits from public welfare schemes to unregistered married couples.
Officials present at the meeting claimed that this step by the state government will ensure strict implementation of the UCC in Uttarakhand.
According to the UCC manual currently being prepared, individuals who do not register their marriages within the stipulated timeframe after the UCC’s implementation will be given 3-6 months to complete the registration formalities. Government employees, who are in the process of getting married, will have to submit registered certificates of their marriages within a definite period after the marriage is solemnised.
Dhami enacted the UCC in February 2024 to provide equal rights to the people of Uttarakhand, especially women, regardless of their caste or religious beliefs. The Act was later sent for ratification by the President of India, whose approval was received in March and was subsequently notified by the state government the same month.