CB BureauRural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has announced an offer of Rs 990 crore to the Women and Child Development Ministry for its women empowerment programmes in gram panchayats. In his words, ‘We can start with the most backward Naxal-affected districts or districts where female literacy is low. We can share one per cent of the Rural Development Ministry budget. You can get Rs 990 crore provided the Finance Ministry approvals are obtained.’
The occasion was the launch of the Convergence Projects of National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW) in New Delhi. Ramesh announced that one per cent of the Rural Development Ministry budget – which totals Rs 99,000 crore – will go towards the appointment of mahila gram samanvayaks, or village coordinators. He cited the developments in Kamrup District of Assam and Pali of Rajasthan, where all the gram sabhas have employed two women coordinators each, for creating awareness among women on issues like child sex ratio and malnutrition.
‘I have learnt that in two districts, Kamrup and Pali, all the gram sabhas have employed two women coordinators each who are paid an amount of Rs 4,000 per month,’ he told the audience at the function, which was presided over by WCD Minister Krishna Tirath and also attended by Panchayati Raj Minister Kishore Chandra Deo.
If all the 2.40 lakh gram sabhas in the country were to employ such women coordinators to work for issues related to women’s development, then an approximate budget of Rs 2,500 crore would be needed, Ramesh said.
The National Mission for Empowerment of Women, announced on International Women’s Day on 8 March 2010, is an initiative by the Government of India targeted at synergizing all efforts for holistic empowerment of women. NMEW has 14 partner ministries and departments and it works with all the state and UT governments, with the Ministry of Women and Child Development working as the nodal ministry. The Mission Directorate and a National Resource Centre for Women (NRCW), the technical arm of the Mission, are fully functional. In 2011 the Mission launched the so-called Poorna Shakti Kendras dedicated to helping women access the range of benefits made available to them through various government programmes, in select districts of the country.
