Bengaluru : Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Friday formally announced the ‘Saptapadi’ mass marriage scheme under which the government will bear the cost of getting Hindu couples wed at 100 Muzrai temples in April and May, this year.

The mass marriages will be held on April 26 and May 24 this year. Couples entering wedlock will be given benefits worth Rs 55,000, including an 8-gram gold thali (mangalsutra), Rs 10,000 for the bride and Rs 5,000 for the bridegroom.

The cost of the mass marriages will be borne out of the funds available with the Muzrai temples where they will be held, Yediyurappa said. “This is just like throwing the lake water back to the lake. The temple funds are nothing but public money given in the form of donation. We’re using them for the benefit of the public,” he said, after releasing the Saptapadi logo and handbill.

We get repeated complaints that people sell their assets only to regret after marriage. They borrow loans and aged parents are burdened because of this. So, for the first time, to benefit all classes of people, the government has decided to hold mass marriages every year,” Yediyurappa said. “This will help put an end to excessive marriage expenditure.” Under Saptapadi, the marriage will be registered on the spot, the chief minister pointed out.

Couples who want to get married on April 26 or May 24 must register at the temples with necessary documents 30 days before. “They can contact the chief executive officer of the temple,” the chief minister said.

Some of the temples selected under the Saptapadi scheme in Bengaluru include the Banashankari, Gavi Gangadhareshwara, Kadu Malleshwara and Dodda Ganapathi.

To a question, Yediyurappa said the government was open to allowing a similar initiative for Muslim couples. “If Muslim couples want to get married out of funds available with religious institutions, we will give the necessary permission,” he said.