Bhubaneswar: The Centre sponsored ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana’ aimed at preventing female foeticide and educating the girl child has gone haywire in the state with no end to the sufferings of the girl child, a report said.
The state government has also launched a scheme titled ‘Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana’ for the welfare of the girl child, but their plight has not decreased even slightly, as female foeticide continues unabated. Even today many girls do not have access to primary education.
The scene is acute in the rural areas where the longing for a male child among couples is more. This is primarily due to lack of awareness among people and shoddy implementation of the government schemes.
The Union government implemented the scheme in 2017-18 fiscal with an aim to encourage the girl child to excel in every sphere of life – education, health, sports and employment.
The state government has implemented the scheme in 15 districts where the birth rate of the girl child is less compared to the male child. However, the state government has failed to utilise the Central funds available under the scheme.
Nayagarh dictrict received the highest share of funds under the scheme on the basis of male-female ratio but the state government has been able to spend only 62 per cent of the funds.
Similarly, only 0.4 per cent of the funds have been spent in Balasore district, while Dhenkanal district has spend the lowest 0.12 percentage of funds.
According to the State Women and Child Welfare department (WCD), Nayagarh district has received `42.62 lakh under the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ scheme, but spent only`26.52 lakh. The remaining 14 districts received`25 lakh each but failed to utilise the available funds.
On its part, the state government has implemented ‘Biju Kanya Ratna Yojana’ in 2016-17 so as to prevent gender determination, ensure girl child protection and increase their enrolment in schools.
This programme is especially being given importance in Angul, Dhenkanal, Ganjam and Nayagarh where people are being sensitised on gender issues.Under Biju Kanya Ratna Yoja, `4 crore has been provided, but only `3.81 crore has been spent.
PNN
