Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Farooq Khan today accorded sanction for financial assistance in favour of 3,264 girls of various districts of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir under ‘State Marriage Assistance Scheme’.Under the scheme, being run by the Social Welfare Department, an amount of Rs 13 crore will be released for providing assistance to 3,264 beneficiaries, while taking the total number of persons benefited under the scheme since its inception to 25,057 and the cumulative financial assistance to Rs 99.26 crore.The State Marriage Assistance Scheme (SMAS) is a social assistance scheme to provide financial assistance to the Below Poverty Lines (BPL) girls for their marriage.The Advisor termed the Scheme as a big boon for poor girls and said it has greatly benefited the deprived section of the society.Meanwhile, Advisor Khan impressed upon the Social Welfare Department to strive for effective implementation of the welfare schemes offered by it. He asked the department to launch a mass awareness campaign to educate the people about the benefits of its schemes.