By IANS
New Delhi : Urging the states to “aggressively implement” the government’s programmes and policies related to women and children, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury Monday called for ensuring the benefits of the schemes reached those it was intended for.
Inaugurating a two-day state ministers’ meet here to discuss women and child related issues, she pointed out at these two “vulnerable” sections of society accounted for nearly 67 percent of the country’s population.
In this context, she noted that in recent past the central government had “undertaken a number of initiatives to tackle multi-dimensional problems and constraints faced by women and children”.
These included the setting up of a National Child Rights Commission, amendments in the Juvenile Justice Act and the Child Marriage Prohibition Act and enactment of the Domestic Violence Act “but follow up action for effective implementation is yet to be taken by the states”, the minister stated.
Highlighting the importance of gender specific schemes for empowering women, Chowdhury said there was need to “create an enabling environment for incorporating a gender perspective and sensitiveness at all levels and stages of the developmental planning”.
In this process, “we hope to achieve gender responsive budgets by reflecting the quantum of flow of funds for women in all sectors”, she noted.
Pointing to deficiencies in implementing the schemes, Chowdhury said a number of states has not availed the grants under Swayamsidha, a programme for self-employment of women.
Requesting the states to “take stock” of the situation on an “emergency basis” so they could receive funds at an early date, the minister also urged them to involve the corporate sector for providing training and skill development and increased employment opportunities for women.
Expressing concern over growing incidents of violence and abuse against women and the girl child, she said the states “should put in place implementation mechanism such as protection officers for effective implementation of Child Marriage Prohibition Act and Prevention of Domestic Violence Act”.
This apart, dissemination and awareness about the provisions of various acts in regional languages “needs to be reinvigorated”, the minister said, adding that the government “wants to set up at least one shelter home for destitute women in each district.”
“Assessment for such shelter homes in the state, particularly in areas such as religious places where a huge population of destitute widows reside, is required on priority basis,” Chowdhury maintained.
Speaking about the proposed Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme for the girl child, the minister said it would be launched “very soon” as a pilot project in 11 educationally backward blocks in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) would be also “restructured and universalised very soon” and would be implemented “in mission mode status to ensure time bound and inclusive approach to reach to the most disadvantaged and vulnerable beneficiaries”, particularly from the Scheduled Castes and Tribes and minority communities, Chowdhury said.
Urging the states to entrust the work of child welfare and protection to a single department, she said that spreading the work over different departments comes in the way of the “effective implementation” of the programmes.
The minister also asked the states to ensure registration of child care institutions, and set up child welfare committees, juvenile justice boards and child protection units in all districts.