To check extravagant weddings, bill in LS seeks cap on number of guests to be invited

In order to check "display of wealth" during extravagant weddings, a private member’s bill in Lok Sabha seeks to put a limit on the number of guests to be invited and dishes to be served during such functions. 

The Marriages (Compulsory Registration and Prevention of Wasteful Expenditure) Bill, 2016, has been introduced by Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan, wife of MP Pappu Yadav.

The bill may be taken up as a private member's Bill in the upcoming Lok Sabha session.

According to the bill, if a family spends above Rs 5 lakh on a wedding, it has to contribute 10 per cent of the amount on marriages of girls from poor families. 

“The purpose of this Bill is to prohibit extravagant and wasteful expenditure on marriages and to enforce simpler solemnisation. Great importance should be assigned to the solemnisation of marriage between two individuals. But unfortunately, these days a tendency of celebrating marriages with pomp and show and spending lavishly growing in the country,” Ranjeet Ranjan said.

"These days, marriages are more about showing off your wealth and as a result, poor families are under tremendous social pressure to spend more. This is needed to be checked as it is not good for society at large," she added. 

The Bill proposes that "if any family intends to spend more than Rs 5 lakh towards expenditure on marriage, such family shall declare the amount proposed to be spent in advance to the appropriate government and contribute 10 per cent of such amount in a welfare fund which shall be established by the appropriate government to assist the poor and Below Poverty Line families for the marriage of their daughters". 

It says that after this proposed legislation comes into force, all marriages shall be registered within 60 days of the solemnisation. 

The government may fix the limit of guests and relatives and number of dishes to be served to the guests and relatives for solemnisation of marriage or for the reception held thereafter as it may deem necessary or expedient to prevent the wastage of food items, it adds. 

(With PTI inputs)