State to set up 175 creches in Maha; 56 of them in city

The creches are expected to cater to children of working women like construction workers, house helpers, or women from the lower strata of society who cannot afford private creches. The creche will be manned by professionally trained creche workers and helpers to take care of the children

Mumbai: To provide daycare centres for babies and young children of working women from urban areas, the state government has planned 175 creches across the state, including 56 in Mumbai. Smriti Irani, union and child welfare minister, during her Mumbai visit on Friday, approved the scheme, and funding of ₹6.60 crore will be allotted for the creches.

The creches are expected to cater to children of working women like construction workers, house helpers, or women from the lower strata of society who cannot afford private creches. The creche will be manned by professionally trained creche workers and helpers to take care of the children. (HT Archives)

The creches are expected to cater to children of working women like construction workers, house helpers, or women from the lower strata of society who cannot afford private creches. The creche will be manned by professionally trained creche workers and helpers to take care of the children. The plan, prepared by the women and child welfare department has the provision of medical kits, regular visits by doctors, and materials for sports and other activities for these children.

Of the 56 proposed creches in the city, eight are in island cities, while the remaining are in eastern and western suburbs. Most of the creches will be set up near existing Anganwadis that are run in the settlements of the lower and lower middle classes. Every Anganwadi has a sizable number of children who need the creche facility. Other creches proposed in the state are in cities like Pune, Thane, and Nagpur.

“All the creches proposed are in the urban areas, where the working women are in large numbers. We are writing to the school education and urban development department requesting them to make one classroom available in the municipal corporation-run schools for the creche. Similarly, in Mumbai, we expect such rooms to be available in BMC schools, where the number of on-roll students has reduced, “Aditi Tatkare, women and child welfare minister of Maharashtra, said.

The minister said that the Anganwadis do not fulfil the needs of children and that is why they have proposed creches. “There will be pre-schooling activities, extracurricular activities for these children in the creche,” Tatkare said.

Union women and child welfare minister Smriti Irani, during her visit, approved the proposal and asked the Maharashtra government to open at least 1,000 creches. “I had a meeting with state women and child welfare minister, Aditi Tatkare, and have given nod to the demands raised by Maharashtra government. We have given approval to the proposal of the creches in urban areas, and the central government would give money even if 1,000 such creches are opened in the state,” said Irani.

The state has also proposed an additional allowance of ₹8 per child for supplementary food, apart from the take-home ration (THR) given to them. The Centre is expected to share the expenditure for these creches, said Tatkare.

Similarly, over 38,000 women benefitted from the One Stop Centers scheme set up in the state. Of the 733 such centers set up for women in need of the counselling, legal, and medical help, 40 of them are in Maharashtra. “There is more demand for such centres in cities like Mumbai, where women coming from other parts of the state or country for some work or brief visit find it difficult to find a place,” Tatkare said.