THE PERFORMANCE of Centre’s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Scheme in the states has not been up to the mark, the Committee on Empowerment of Women has said in its latest report while expressing “dismay” at the poor utilisation of funds.
The committee, chaired by Maharashtra BJP Lok Sabha MP Heena Vijaykumar Gavit, tabled its fifth report on “Empowerment of women through education with special reference to Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Scheme’’ in Lok Sabha on Thursday.
According to the report, nearly 80 per cent of the funds for the scheme has been used for its advertising and not on sectoral interventions such as in health and education for women.
The committee said since its inception in 2014-15 till 2019-20, the total budgetary allocation under the scheme was Rs 848 crore, excluding the Covid-stricken financial year of 2020-21. During this period, an amount Rs 622.48 crore was released to the states.
The panel recommended that “the government should… focus on planned expenditure allocation for sectoral interventions in education and health”, the report said.
What is the scheme :
The Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Scheme, launched to address the decline in Child Sex Ratio and related issues of empowerment of girls, is implemented by states with 100% central assistance.
It is a tri-ministerial scheme with the Women and Child Development Ministry as the nodal ministry.
The other two ministries involved are Health and Family Welfare and Education (Department of School Education and Literacy).
“However, to the committee’s dismay, only 25.13% of the funds, i.e. Rs 156.46 crore, has been spent by the states, reflecting not up to the mark performance of the scheme,” the panel’s report said.
The committee further observed that out of a total of Rs 446.72 crore released during 2016- 2019, “a whopping 78.91% was spent only on media advocacy”.
“Though the committee understands the necessity to undertake a media campaign to spread the message of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao among the people, they have felt that it is equally important to balance the objectives of the scheme,” the report said.