Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao: Govt should reconsider spending on advertisements, focus on education and health, says Parliamentary Committee

New Delhi [India], December 10 : Under Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme, the government should reconsider spending on advertisements and should focus on planned expenditure allocation for sectoral interventions in education and health, recommended the Committee on the Empowerment of Women in its report tabled in Lok Sabha.
"The Committee has recommended that the government should, hereafter, reconsider spending on advertisements under the 'Beti Bachao - Beti Padhao' scheme and should focus on planned expenditure allocation for sectoral interventions in education and health," read the report.
The report stated that the BBBP scheme is implemented with 100 per cent central assistance, adding that Rs. 50 lakh per year is earmarked per district for utilisation under six different components, viz. 16 per cent for inter-sectoral consultation/ capacity building, 50 per cent for innovation/ awareness generation activities, 6 per cent for monitoring and evaluation, 10 per cent for sectoral interventions in health, 10 per cent for sectoral interventions in education and 8 per cent as flexi funds.
"The Committee has also found that out of a total of Rs. 446.72 crore released during the period 2016- 2019, a whopping 78.91 per cent was spent only on media advocacy. Though the Committee understands the necessity to undertake a media campaign to spread the message of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao among the people, they have felt that it is equally important to balance the objectives of the scheme," read the report further.
Stating that BBBP is one of the most important vehicles of the government to improve the child sex ratio in backward regions and ensure the education of the girl children, the Committee recommended the government to focus on planned expenditure allocation.
"Only 25.13 per cent of the funds, i.e. Rs. 156.46 crore have been spent by the States reflecting not upto the mark performance of the scheme. Even C&AG had criticized the scheme's implementation and very less spending by States in 2016-17," the report said.
The Committee, therefore, recommended the Ministry of Women and Child Development to immediately take up the issue with States/Union Territories and ensure proper utilisation of BBBP funds. Also, Ministry must release funds to the States/Union Territories strictly on the basis of actual utilisation of earlier release only after proper scrutiny of expenditure/ utilisation of the previous funds.
Further, stressing on the need to attain one of the desired goals of the scheme, i.e., to promote the Girl Child education. The Committee recommended that "In order to mobilize the return of girl students to schools and sustain their regular attendance, concerted efforts should be taken up by all the stakeholders i.e. Central and State Governments and all frontline workers."
Also, on the issue of Hygiene and Privacy of Girls in School, Committee recommended that "timeline for constructing 100 per cent segregated functional toilets for girls in government schools may be finalised and in convergence with Jal Shakti Mission, tapped water supply should be ensured in them and the Central Government must take up the matter of installation of incinerators in all-girls toilets for hygienic disposal of used sanitary napkins."
"The committee has found that with consistent efforts the States are beginning to show a positive result which is evident as per the latest Sample Registration Survey (SRS) Report 2018 wherein the overall Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) is seen to have recorded 3 points improvement, from 896 in 2015-17 (SRS) to 899 in 2016-18 (SRS)," read the report on Child Sex Ratio.
Chairperson of Committee on Empowerment of Women, Dr Heena Vijaykumar Gavit presented its Fifth Report to the Seventeenth Lok Sabha on the subject "Empowerment of Women through education with special reference to 'Beti Bacho - Beti Padhao' Scheme" in Lok Sabha on Friday.