Kerala civic body to gift gold for simple marriages

The wedding is a time of celebration, and for many, it's the way to reflect extravagance. It's a trend to spend more money on marriages through lavish wedding celebrations, and it seems the beauty of marriage is replaced with the material consideration which has become a matter of grave concern. 
 

It is at this stage that a municipality in northern Kerala came forward to make people realise that marriage is a function that reflects the personal values of the couple and their family. It is also about their perception about communal standards. 
 

To create awareness, the municipal authorities decided to encourage simple, environmental friendly and plastic free marriage functions. They thought of various ways to implement this and found gifting as the best option and that too a golden gift. 
 

Municipal authorities issued guidelines on conducting marriages and related functions like engagement and reception. They will check whether functions are held as per the guidelines and winning family will be gifted two sovereigns of gold. 
 

Marriages conducted between January 10 and 31 will be considered in the first phase. Those who want to participate need to give an application to the municipality. A panel comprising the municipal chairman, experts and council members will visit the function and check wheather guidelines are observed. 
 

"The project is launched as part of state government's Haritha Keralam project. We aim to encourage people to shun extra expenses and luxury for marriage. The plan is to reduce usage of plastic and disposable contents. Even gift packs should not contain plastics. Waste disposal must be done at source," Mattannur municipality chairman M Bhaskaran Master said. 
 

The municipality is also planning to extend the project by getting sponsorship. The authorities are also thinking about drafting bylaws imposing a hefty licence fee for selling and using plastic products. They plan to impose a user fee between ₹30 and ₹1, 000 for handing over plastic waste to the civic body.

• Haritha Keralam
• plastic free marriages
• simple marriages
• gold gift