In view of the upcoming Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly election, the Eknath Shinde government has decided to provide benefits of government schemes to minimum one lakh women in each district of the state. For this, the government will run a 'chief minister women empowerment campaign' in the state. A GR (government resolution) has been issued by the child and women development department in this connection.
According to the GR, all government machinery will be brought under one roof to provide benefits of the various schemes to the women till October 1, 2024. One crore women will be brought into the mainstream through women self-help groups. Under this, a minimum of 2.50 lakh women in each district will be linked to women's self-help groups. The total number of women voters is 4.34 crore in the state.
The GR said that a two-day program will be organised at the district and tehsil level to provide the benefits of the schemes to the women. Group Development Officer and District Program Officer in urban areas and District Coordination Officer and Women Economic Development Corporation in rural areas have been entrusted with the responsibility of this campaign.
“Chief Minister's secretariat will do the main coordination to run the campaign. A committee will be formed for this campaign under the chairmanship of chief minister Eknath Shinde. The committee, which will be headed by the chief minister, will include representatives of various training institutions, secretaries of the Industries Department, bank officials, representatives of voluntary organisations, experts, online markets and chambers of commerce,” the GR reads.
This committee will meet on the first Monday of every month. State Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare will review the campaign every month. She will submit the report to the chief minister and two deputy chief ministers. An IAS officer from the Chief Minister's Office will be the state coordination nodal officer for the campaign. The district coordinator for this campaign will be the District Collector.
The GR also said that the MLAs will be able to voluntarily provide MLA funds up to Rs 20 lakh to run this campaign effectively.
