Now, private firms can manage rape crisis cells

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A senior official in the Health department said the decision was made and guidelines notified after proposals were received from a couple of companies to participate in the area. “After the CSR rules were revised last year by the Central government, we received proposals from two companies because health, social welfare and women and child welfare are areas which have been specially included in the new rules. We felt private companies can help us enhance the services we are given in some ways, so we decided to introduce this as a policy change,” the official said.

Officials said budgetary constraints or logistics “had no role to play” in the state government’s decision. Sources said the government will still proceed with the plan to provide one such centre in central, state or municipal hospitals by this year to ensure all the 11 districts in the capital have one such centre.

Besides providing facilities for medical examination for rape and assault victims, women can seek counseling and legal help at the centres. Sources said private companies can help provide “dedicated ambulances for the centres, which was not possible at a government hospital” and additional nursing and paramedical staff. “It is impossible for the government to give these centres a 24×7 ambulance because of the volume of patients a hospital receives. A private company can help us with this. We have limited staff, private companies can help enhance the staff at these centres and even provide better legal services,” a senior official said.

Sources said in hospitals where construction of the centres had been completed, private companies can also contribute in “improving the look of the centres”. “In hospitals like Lal Bahadur Shastri, Baba Saheb Ambedkar and the municipal corporation’s Hindurao hospital, the companies can even help in their construction,” he said.