E-Paper
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao: States used only 25% of funds allocated, shows report
The panel on Empowerment of Women, chaired by BJP lawmaker Dr Heena V Gavit, also noted that out of a total of ₹446.72 crore released during the period 2016- 2019, “a whopping 78.91% was spent only on media advocacy”.
All states and Union territories have spent only 25.13% of funds allotted under the Centre’s flagship Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) programme between 2015-15 and 2019-20, a parliamentary committee report revealed on Friday.
The panel on Empowerment of Women, chaired by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Dr. Heena V Gavit, also noted that out of a total of ₹446.72 crore released during the period 2016- 2019, “a whopping 78.91% was spent only on media advocacy”.
The panel recommended that “it is time to focus on other verticals by making ample financial provisions to help achieve measurable outcomes related to education and health envisaged under the scheme”.
Addressing reporters here, Gavit acknowledged that the low spending by states did not “an up to the mark performance of the scheme.”
“We have recommended that the ministry of women and child development immediately takes up the issue with the states to ensure proper utilisation of funds. The Committee has also said that the nodal ministry must release funds strictly on the basis of actual utilisation of earlier release and after proper scrutiny of expenditure/ utilisation of the previous funds,” Gavit said.
The panel will now take up the issue of a number of girl students dropping out of schools amid the pandemic. Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, a member of the panel, said, “Our initial estimates suggest that more girl students dropped out of private schools during Ccovid.”
“The possible reasons might be that lack of internet facilities hampered education or that parents might be uninterested in paying fees when the schools remained closed. Government schools faced little problem as education is free there. We will study this carefully,” she said.