Organisations are wary of taking up Centre’s Ujjawala scheme which aims at rehabilitating women and children rescued from trafficking, say officials from the Department of Social Defence.
“Their rescue and reintegration involves a lot of risk, in terms of security and costs, which deters organisations from taking up the project,” said a senior official from the department.
The Ujjawala Scheme is funded by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, which enforces “Prevention, Rescue, Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Women” and children with their families within the country or across borders.
Funding sources
As per the scheme, the organisations willing to take up the project must first submit a proposal to the State department concerned and the inspecting officer will sanction the funds if the proposal is satisfactory. As much as 60% of the funding is provided by the Centre, 30% by the State and 10% by the implementing agencies. The Centre releases the funds in two instalments, first after the sanctioning of the project and the second after the implementing agency furnishes proof that the amount given earlier was well spent.
For the year 2016-17, a sum of ₹36,02,850 was released to the State government of Tamil Nadu as first instalment of grants-in-aid to be utilised for all the components of the scheme.
Cost factor
Officials pointed out that many organisations, who have come forward to implement the project, have quit midway due to the cost involved in rehabilitating and reuniting them with their families. Only six NGOs across the State are implementing this scheme. “We are inviting organisations to submit applications. We hope people come forward to help implement this scheme,” an official said.
