Chandigarh, September 2
For a state notorious for female foeticide, condition of women and girls, too, seem to be of little concern to the Punjab government.

In a startling revelation, members of the Punjab State Commission for Women has found that the state government had not implemented a number of women and girl child-specific schemes of the Centre.

In a review meeting conducted by the commission here today, chairperson Gurdev Kaur Sangha was told that not even a single penny has been spent by the Department of Social Security under the Kishori Shakti Scheme for girls or the Dhan Lakshmi Scheme for the newborn girls.

The department had also failed to spend any money in the second quarter of this year for old age pension of women, provision of nutrition to pregnant and lactating mothers and nutrition to malnourished children.

Moreover, no grant has been given this year to any NGO working for the welfare of the women and children. The department also does not have any targets under the Anti-Dowry Act. The commission noted that nothing substantial had been done by the department in providing facilities for women in nari niketans. The department has not set up any training or production centres for rehabilitating the needy women.

It was also pointed out during the meeting that earlier directors had allowed funds of several schemes to lapse and shown little interests in implementing them. The fact that former directors did not even bother to visit women and children homes was also brought up during the meeting.

Referring to a series of news reports carried by The Tribune, the commission took serious note of the fact that mentally challenged women and men were being housed in the same complex run by the department. Male attendants had been assigned to take care of mentally challenged and sick women.

The commission has instructed the department that separate arrangements be made for accommodating men and women. The panel also expressed displeasure that in many districts the department had assigned charge of 4-6 welfare institutions to a single official that could lead to gross mismanagement. The members felt that the present staffing pattern needed an immediate review.

The commission has asked for a detailed report regarding the implementation of the various social welfare schemes from the department within a fortnight.