Maharashtra govt revamps women and child welfare schemes

Mumbai, The Maharashtra government has decided to revamp public services and welfare schemes run by its Women and Child Development Department to simplify procedures, reduce paperwork and minimise administrative delays.

The decision follows recommendations made by the State Governance Process Re-engineering Approval Committee at its meeting on October 6, according to a government order issued on October 16.

The government has decided to discontinue four schemes as part of the overhaul to avoid duplication and improve resource utilisation.

As part of the wide-ranging exercise, nine scheme-related services will be removed from the Aaple Sarkar portal.

The issuance of certificates to orphan children will remain the primary notified service under the Maharashtra Right to Public Services Act, 2015. This service will be shifted from offline mode to a dedicated online portal once it is developed, according to the order.

The application process for the Lek Ladki Yojana, which aims to encourage the birth of girl children and support families with an annual income of up to ₹1 lakh, will be moved online through the MahaDBT portal.

The Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Bal Sangopan Yojana, which provides financial assistance of ₹2,250 to eligible children requiring alternative family care and ₹250 to non-governmental organisations, will be integrated with MahaDBT.

The order calls for the use of digital platforms, including Poshan Tracker and DigiLocker, and automated identity and bank account verification to improve service delivery.

It recommends updating anganwadi construction plans, issuing key result areas and standard operating procedures for Child Development Project Officers, mapping material assets through Poshan Tracker and coordinating with the Centre to track children's body mass index .

Dedicated priority lines will be introduced for emergency calls to the women's helpline 181. Applications for Sakhi Nivas working women's hostels will eventually be shifted to a Common Hostel Portal.

Educational assistance and examination fee waivers for orphan students pursuing professional courses will be processed directly through the departments concerned, including Tribal Development and Higher and Technical Education, the order said.

The government has decided to discontinue four schemes. These include multipurpose community centres for women, grants to Zilla Parishads for Mahila Mandals, grants for Devadasi rehabilitation hostels in Kolhapur and Sangli, and provision of solar power sets to anganwadi centres.

The solar power scheme has been replaced by assistance for electricity bills, said the order.

The Majhi Kanya Bhagyashree scheme, replaced by the Lek Ladki Yojana, will be closed after pending claims up to March 2027 are settled.

Schemes providing assistance to shelter homes under Aadhar Gruha and financial aid to orphans affected by the COVID-19 pandemic will be phased out by FY 2027-28 due to overlapping central schemes or absence of fresh applications, the order said.

The Women and Child Welfare Department said the move was aimed at avoiding duplication, improving resource utilisation and taking into account demand, availability of alternative schemes, implementation status and budgetary provisions, and did not mean an across-the-board discontinuation of services.

The seven schemes reviewed include multipurpose social centres for women, grants to women's groups, financial assistance for rehabilitation of children of devadasis, solar power systems for anganwadis without electricity, the Mazi Kanya Bhagyashree scheme, financial assistance to NGOs running shelter homes, and monetary aid for children affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The department said the number of organisations availing benefits under the multipurpose social centres scheme had declined in recent years.

Alternative arrangements, including women empowerment centres and Sakhi One Stop Centres in every district, provide information, guidance, counselling and links to relevant services.

The grants scheme for women's groups was also reviewed as programmes for skill development, training, awareness and empowerment are being implemented through other agencies. The department clarified this did not mean such activities or awareness programmes for women would be discontinued.

Regarding financial assistance for the rehabilitation of children of devadasis, the department said legal provisions to eradicate the devadasi practice had been in place since 2005. No expenditure was incurred under the scheme in the previous year, and no proposals for rehabilitation of such children had been received from district-level authorities, it said.

The department noted the revised Lek Ladki scheme had replaced the Majhi Kanya Bhagyashree scheme, with eligible girls entitled to financial assistance at specified stages.

On assistance to NGOs running shelter homes, the department said information available with it indicated only three such homes were operational.

Eligible beneficiaries under the financial assistance scheme for children who were orphaned or rendered homeless during the pandemic have been included in the Savitribai Phule Child Care Scheme, said the order.

Services and benefits would continue through existing mechanisms, including Mission Shakti, Shakti Sadan, Sakhi One Stop Centres, women empowerment centres, the Lek Ladki Yojana, the Savitribai Phule Child Care Scheme and Mission Vatsalya, it added.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.