(1) whether the Government are aware that thousands of widows have migrated from West Bengal to various places in U.P. due to failure of West Bengal Government to offer them rehabilitation scheme; (2) if so, the details thereof; (3) whether the Union Government have taken up the matter with the State Governments; (4) if so, the reaction of the State Governments thereto; and (5) the constructive steps taken by the Union Government for rehabilitation of these widows?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(SHRIMATI SUMITRA MAHAJAN)
(a),(b),(c)&(d) The West Bengal Commission for Women has
submitted an Interim Report on the Survey of Bengali Women
in Vrindavan to the State Government. The Interim Report
forwarded to the Central Government on 24.2.2000 by the
State Government of West Bengal reveals the following:
(1) The number of widows coming from West Bengal to
Vrindaban has been reduced to a thin trickle in the last
twenty years or so;
(2) While the majority are Bengali speaking, there are
quite a few women from other States including U.P. who
depend on “Bhajanashrams†for their livelihood;
(3) There are not only widows but women with husbands who
find in the `Bhajanashrams’ a way of supplementing their
income;
(4) The large majority of widows who settled here for
partly economic and partly religious reason are not willing to go back.
(e) Central Government has set up a Committee under the
Chairpersonship of Minister of State for Women and Child
Development to co-ordinate the efforts of Uttar Pradesh and
West Bengal Governments and Central Government organisations
for rehabilitation of the marginalised women of Vrindavan
and to monitor flow of benefits of Central Schemes to the
target group.
Besides, there are various Central Government Schemes
for self employment for women such as Setting up of
Employment-cum-Income Generating Units for Women (NORAD),
Support to Training and Employment Programme (STEP), Indira
Mahila Yojana (IMY), Socio-Economic Programme (SEP),
Condensed Courses of Educational and Vocational Training for
Women (CCE&VT) under which preference is given to such
marginalised women in the matter of providing assistance.
The Rashtriya Mahila Kosh is also implementing programmes,
with special focus on marginalised women, under which
financial assistance is provided for implementing self
employment programmes through Non-Governmental
Organisations. Other schemes such as National Old Age
Pension Scheme and the Social Defence Schemes provide for
pension and rehabilitation of such aged and marginalised
women.