Assam budget proposes welfare ban, dismissal for those practising polygamy
The Assam government on Friday proposed dismissing government employees found guilty of practising polygamy, according to the state Budget presented by Finance Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah. The Budget also proposed barring people practising polygamy from availing benefits under state-run welfare schemes”Speaker Sir, in order to promote women’s empowerment and gender justice, any male practising polygamy shall not be eligible to avail benefits under any government welfare scheme,” Baruah said, as cited by PTI. The Budget proposed amending the Assam Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1964, to make government employees found practising polygamy liable for dismissal from service, in accordance with the law.”To promote integrity and responsible citizenship, I propose that any person convicted of an offence under any criminal law shall not be eligible to avail benefits under notified government welfare schemes,” Baruah added. As a regular Budget could not be presented due to the election process, the government will resume its basket of welfare schemes from August onwards, he added.”The august House will appreciate the introduction of unprecedented basket of welfare schemes by our government covering various levels of beneficiaries. I propose to allocate over Rs 6,000 crore under different grants for these welfare schemes,” Baruah said. Baruah presented a Rs 2.85 lakh crore Budget for the 2026-27 financial year, proposing a fourfold increase in the tax exemption limit for small tea growers and a nearly 10-percentage-point cut in VAT on piped natural gas.The Assam Assembly last year passed The Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025, which seeks to ban polygamous marriages in the state and impose strict penalties on those who enter into or conceal a second marriage while the first remains legally valid.The Bill, introduced by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on the opening day of the winter session, will apply across Assam, except in Sixth Schedule areas and to members of Scheduled Tribes as defined under the Constitution.The Bill defines polygamy as entering into a marriage while either party already has a legally valid existing marriage or a living spouse from whom they have neither obtained a legal divorce nor had the marriage annulled.It provides for a punishment of up to seven years’ imprisonment and a fine for anyone found guilty of entering into a polygamous marriage.
