BHOPAL: An audit of government Working Women Hostels (WWHs) in Madhya Pradesh by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has revealed significant deficiencies in the planning, operation and monitoring of the 59 hostels, including the use of a large number of hostels for purposes other than accommodating working women.
The performance audit, covering the period from 2019-20 to 2023-24, evaluated all 59 WWHs located across 34 districts of the state.
One of the key findings of the audit was that 22 of the 59 WWHs, accounting for 37 per cent of the total bed capacity (1,310 beds), were being used for other purposes, including as boys' and girls' hostels, by urban local bodies, and as training centres for ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers.
"The audit also noticed that some of the WWHs were rented out for unauthorised purposes to generate monetary benefits," the CAG report, tabled in the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday, stated.
In Khargone district of southwestern Madhya Pradesh, the ground floor of a WWH has been rented out since January 2019 to the Public Works Department (Project Implementation Unit) and the National Highways authority at a monthly rent of Rs 23,575.
In neighbouring Dhar district, the hostel was rented to the Sports Project Development Area (SPDA) from November 1991 until 2011-12 at a monthly rent of Rs 5,300. In Seoni district, 14 rooms on the ground floor and the entire first floor of the hostel were leased to the District Urban Development Authority (DUDA) and an Anganwadi Training Centre at a monthly rent of Rs 9,000 since July 2019.
In Bijawar in Chhatarpur district of the Bundelkhand region, the hostel's ground floor was rented out to a school at Rs 3,025 per month from July 2017, while the first floor was leased to another school at Rs 2,000 per month from October 2004.
The audit further found that, apart from the 22 WWHs being used for other purposes, five hostel buildings across the state had been dismantled and replaced with structures for hospitals and offices without obtaining prior approval from the Central government.
According to the audit findings, only 13 of the 59 WWHs across 34 districts, with a combined capacity of 990 beds, were functional or partially functional as of March 31, 2024.
Four WWHs, with a capacity of 173 beds, were non-functional. Three hostels, although reported to have been sanctioned and completed, were found to be untraceable. Construction of three hostels sanctioned during 1989-91 remained incomplete, while work on another hostel sanctioned in 1988-89 had not even begun. Additionally, 12 WWHs were found to be in a dilapidated, dismantled or ruined condition.
Of the 13 functional hostels, nine recorded occupancy rates ranging between 40 and 50 per cent during the audit period (2019-20 to 2023-24). The audit concluded that the low occupancy was attributable to outdated infrastructure, lack of modern facilities, limited public awareness and non-functional day care centres.
Although 11 day care centres had been sanctioned for the WWHs in the state, a joint physical verification of five functional hostels revealed that none of the sanctioned day care centres was operational.
Day care centres are intended to provide supervised care, early education and developmental activities for infants and young children while their working mothers, including single, widowed, divorced and separated women, are at work.
The CAG audit also found instances of ineligible boarders residing in WWHs meant exclusively for working women.
A total of 274 beneficiaries were residing in 10 of the 13 functional WWHs as of March 31, 2024.
Notably, the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department, which is the nodal department responsible for monitoring the functioning of WWHs established under the Central government's Working Women Hostels Scheme introduced in 1972-73, did not conduct any survey between 2019 and 2024 to assess the demand for such hostels among working women.
Despite the female labour force participation rate (LFPR) in Madhya Pradesh increasing from 23.2 per cent to 61.1 per cent in rural areas and from 23.2 per cent to 28.5 per cent in urban areas during the period from 2019-20 to 2023-24, no action was taken to earmark public land for WWHs in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and new institutional areas.
Based on its findings, the CAG recommended the introduction of a single digital platform for registration of admission requests to WWHs, with real-time updates on occupancy and vacancy status, generation of waiting lists, and greater public awareness. It also recommended putting in place a Management Information System (MIS) to monitor fund utilisation by implementing agencies and facilitate timely remedial action.
The audit further recommended renovating ageing WWH infrastructure under the Central government's 2017 scheme, ensuring regular maintenance by implementing agencies, and upgrading facilities to improve liveability with government support.
