Race among states for Nirbhaya funds
A race has begun among states for the `1,000 crore Nirbhaya fund lying unspent with the Centre. The Union home ministry has received some innovative and out-of-the box suggestions from states who are keen to spend the money set aside by the government in this year’s budget in the memory of December 16 Delhi gangrape victim to strengthen safety and security of women.
Madhya Pradesh feels that constituting special awards for police officers for outstanding investigation in crimes against women cases can strengthen women security. The MP government wants to use the Nirbhaya fund to give `10,000 for each successful chargesheeting of heinous crimes and `50,000 for ensuring conviction in these cases.
After putting on its thinking cap, the Punjab government has told the ministry of home affairs that it wants to use the money to set up mobile women commando squads, where motor-cycle -helmet donning women commandos acting as Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) can chase culprits and help fellow women in distress.
The states have told the MHA that extensive application of the initiatives outlined by them will help in effective curtailment of crimes against women.
Andhra Pradesh, on its part, wants the fund to be used to develop a mobile app to send SOS messages that can be installed in all forms of mobile phones and raise an alert with just a click of the button. The proposed software should immediately locate the user’s location as well.
Narendra Modi-ruled Gujarat government has clearly drawn up a `107 crore budget — which it wants to use under six heads — funds for women-centric initiatives named Suraksha Setu, creation of women help desks at police stations, funds for Mahila Suraksha Samiti, upgradation of forensic capabilities and police training. The MHA recently held a video-conferencing with state governments to hear their views on effective implementation of the Nirbhaya fund. The corpus of `1,000 had been lying unspent for the last few months after confusion prevailed over who and how the money will be spent. The government has finally decided that the Nirbhaya fund will be administered by the department of economic affairs in close collaboration with the ministries of home, women and child development, DEIT, and other agencies to work out the “structure, scope and application’’ of the fund.
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