Empowerment of Women – Initiatives of the Ministry of Rural Development
Ministry of Rural Development is implementing various poverty alleviation and rural development programmes having special components for women with earmarked funds to ensure the flow of adequate resources for the coverage of women.
Under National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), during the year 2006-07, a total of 5,365.38 lakh persondays (up to January, 2007) were generated and out of which 2,113.06 lakh persondays were generated for women which is 39.38% of the total employment generated under the scheme.
Under Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY), 605.13 lakh persondays were created for women which is 26.07% of the total employment generated (2,320.76 lakh persondays) under the programme.
The number of women swarozgaris assisted under Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) up to Jan., 2007, is 4,20,412 which is 60.01% of the total swarozgaris (7,00,605 ) assisted under the Yojana.
During 2006-07, under Indira Awas Yojana (IAY), 8,95,236 number of dwelling units were completed up to Jan., 2007, out of which 5,54,277 (61.91%) houses were allotted in the name of women and 1,88,781 (21.09%) jointly in the name of both husband and wife.
Under Central Rural Sanitation Programme (CRSP), up to 10% of the allocated funds can be utilized for construction and maintenance of public latrines for women. Under Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP), training is imparted to women to enable them play an active role in using and maintaining hand pumps for the supply of drinking water. Women are also represented in village level committees and are actively involved in the selection of sites for hand pumps and other sources.
In respect of programmes like Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and Watershed Development Programmes, where it is not always easy to collect segregated data showing direct benefits to rural women, however, they do have a significant impact on the living conditions of the rural women. Like improved rural connectivity is likely to enhance the opportunities for the girl child to have access to the education facilities. Similarly better Sanitation coverage can also have salutary impact on the living environment of the rural women.
The Ministry has already taken initiative to conduct a study to gauge benefits flowing to the women in respect of PMGSY and Integrated Wasteland Development Programame (IWDP), which are normally considered gender-neutral schemes.
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(Release ID :26630)