Maharashtra govt puts on hold women empowerment scheme within 24 hours of announcement

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has put on hold a women empowerment scheme within 24 hours of issuing an order regarding its implementation.

The scheme – ‘Mukhymantri Mahila Sashaktikaran Abhiyan’ – was to be implemented in the state from October 2, 2023, to October 1 2024.

The programme was to be monitored by the woman and child development minister, who would submit monthly reports to the “chief minister and deputy chief minister”, said the order issued on September 20.

The department secretary was to be the nodal officer. A special officer was to be appointed at the state level, while the woman and child development commissioner, Pune, was to head the programme.

As per the order, the programme was a unified platform to implement all programmes and policies of the state and central governments related to women for their socio-economic development.

However, a fresh notification on September 21 said the order issued the previous day had been stayed until further orders.

The women and child development ministry is handled by NCP’s Aditi Tatkare, the lone woman in the state cabinet who switched sides to join the Eknath Shinde-led government on July 2.

Notably, despite the latest notification to stay the implementation, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde mentioned the scheme when he spoke to reporters late Thursday night after the Rajya Sabha passed the women’s reservation bill to reserve one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women.

Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shinde said, his government has taken the decision to implement the ‘NaMo women empowerment scheme’ to ensure women get the benefits of all government programmes.