India News | Parl Panel Flags Underutilisation of Nirbhaya Fund, Recommends Mechanism for Constant Monitoring
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. A parliamentary standing committee has flagged the under-utilisation of Nirbhaya fund and recommended that the ministries concerned must develop a robust mechanism for constant monitoring of projects and schemes being handled by them.
New Delhi, Feb 4 (PTI) A parliamentary standing committee has flagged the under-utilisation of Nirbhaya fund and recommended that the ministries concerned must develop a robust mechanism for constant monitoring of projects and schemes being handled by them.
The Nirbhaya Fund Framework provides for a non-lapsable corpus fund for safety and security of women to be administered by the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) in the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
A parliamentary standing committee report on issues related to safety of women was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
It said at present out of the allocated funds of Rs 9,549 crore and released funds of Rs 4,241 crore, the funds utilised so far stand at around Rs 2,989 crore only.
"The committee notes that under-utilisation of Nirbhaya fund has remained a pressing issue of concern for long. The committee recommends that the factors which are leading to such under-utilisation of the fund need to be identified," it said.
The panel also said the state governments need to be brought onboard in ensuring that the projects and schemes, in which they are stakeholders, get implemented effectively and any issues raised by them should be addressed expeditiously.
"The committee also recommends that the ministries concerned must develop a robust mechanism for constant monitoring of projects/schemes being handled by them," the panel said.
Also, guidelines may be prepared to ensure that this fund is not utilised for creating routine infrastructure, which even otherwise the relevant departments have to undertake, the panel said.
"The committee also stresses that wherever there is provision under the guidelines for financial assistance/compensation to the victims, it should be ensured that the same is made available without any procedural impediments and undue delays," the panel said.
On women help-desks established at police stations, the Women and Child Development Ministry said the Home Ministry stated that it has released Rs 107.49 crore to states or UTs for setting up women help-desks in 10,749 police stations across the country.
The Home Ministry has also issued advisories from time to time advising states or UTs for providing 33 per cent reservation to women in police, the WCD Ministry told the panel.
The WCD Ministry also said the MHA has stated that Forensic Sciences Laboratories (FSLs) have been setup in 32 states or UTs.
"In remaining four UTs of Chandigarh, Daman Diu Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep and Ladakh, police utilise the forensic science facilities available in their neighbouring states or in the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratories. Further, strengthening of capacities in the FSLs for dealing with cases on crimes against women, though a state subject, is a high-priority activity for the MHA," the WCD Ministry said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)