In 5 yrs,22 homes for destitute women got violation notices

The RTI reply,which comes amid the emerging view that the rules of running these homes need to be streamlined and tightened,shows there are 20 government institutions for women,two protection homes,also run by the government,three homes run by non-governmental organisations and nine shelters for destitute women that get partial government aid.

The RTI reply states that though showcause notices were issued to 22 of them in the last five years for various reasons,licence of none was suspended.

According to Women and Child Welfare department officers,all the homes have now rectified the faults and there has been no cancellation of operations of any of the women’s homes sent notices.

The department,in a written reply,stated that its officials conduct mandatory checks on government and non-government organisations run for welfare of women. The rules state that there should be a detailed check and random checks every month.

“The surprise raids have seen the Krupa Women’s institution in Raigad,the Pratibha Women’s Home in Ratnagiri and the Renuka Mata home in Solapur all run by the government and the Aadharashram at Nashik being sent notices,’’ said a senior official of the department. There have been several issues over maintenance of records by most institutions but the RTI reply states that they have updated the records since. Records regarding basic honorarium given to women in government institution too had not been maintained centrally at the office.

While government institutions are fully funded,nine shelter homes are given partial government aid. The homes run by non-governmental organisations are also subjected to inspections.

Deputy Commissioner of the department,Ravi Patil,said although there are checks and balances in place,there is a need to further tighten the rules of running these institutions. “We have sent a proposal to the government to have a uniform system of rules to be implemented by all institutions housing women. We are awaiting the government order,which would streamline the system further,’’ said Patil.

Home List

There are two homes for destitutes in Pune district, in Baramati and Mundhwa. Satara,Kolhapur,Solapur,Mumbai (island city),Thane,Raigad,Sindhudurg,Ratnagiri,Aurangabad,Jalna,Nanded,Latur,Akola,Jalgaon,Nashik and Dhule have one each and Nagpur has two. There are two protection homes run by the government in Mumbai city and Nagpur. There are three homes run by NGOs in Thane,Mumbai (suburban),and Pune( Hadapsar).

The state has nine shelter homes,three in Mumbai (suburban),two in Pune (Mahila Sevasharam and St Crispin’s home) and one each in Solapur,Kolhapur,Nagpur and Nashik.