NEW DELHI: Concerned over slow implementation of women safety projects under Nirbhaya fund, Nripendra Mishra, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has communicated to the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways, asking for proper monitoring and implementation of the sanctioned projects under the scheme.
In a letter to Transport Secretary Y S Malik on October 6, Mishra raised the matter that the progress of initiatives aimed at enhancing the safety and security for women in the country under the ministry has been slow and not satisfactory.
He further said that the Nirbhaya Fund was created for taking initiatives to ensure safety of women but the sanctioned projects are not being implemented properly even after the funds were allocated.
The Empowered Committee has sanctioned three schemes for which the union transport ministry is the nodal agency for implementation. Abhaya Project provides for GPS tracking system in public transport in two districts of Andhra Pradesh at a cost of Rs. 138.49 crores. Providing an all women ‘Pink Bus’ in Uttar Pradesh and Bangalore city at a total cost of Rs 139 crore were also sanctioned by the empowered committee.
“But none of the projects have taken off successfully. Abhaya project has been stuck due to internal issues in the Andhra Pradesh while the ministry is in the process of releasing the money for the Pink Bus,” said a senior ministry official.
Mishra has now directed the transport ministry to take proactive measures to review the projects in the concerned states and ensure that these projects are implemented in a timely manner as they are of great importance for safety and security of women.
The Ministry of Finance had set up a dedicated fund called Nirbhaya Fund in 2013, for implementation of initiatives aimed at enhancing the safety and security for women in the country. It is a non-lapsable corpus fund. The Ministry of Women and Child Development is the nodal ministry to appraise schemes under Nirbhaya Fund and also to review and monitor the progress of sanctioned schemes in conjunction with the concerned ministries.
Under Nirbhaya fund, 18 proposals amounting to Rs. 2195.97 crores have been received so far, out of which 16 proposals amounting to Rs. 2187.47 crores have been appraised and recommended by the empowered committee.