Nearly 80% of Beti Bachao funds spent on media, House panel expresses ‘dismay’

Pointing out that 78.91 percent of the total fund has been spent by the states only on media advocacy, the Committee on Empowerment of Women has expressed “dismay” at the poor utilisation of the amount allocated by the centre for its Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme.

In a report submitted in Parliament on Thursday, the panel, chaired by Maharashtra BJP Lok Sabha MP Heena Vijaykumar Gavit, said that of the Rs 446.72 crore released under the scheme between 2016 and 2019, 78.91 percent was spent on media advocacy, and not on sectoral intervention on health and education for women, Times of India reported.

“The committee understand the necessity to undertake media campaign to spread the message of BBBP among people...they have felt that it is equally important to balance the objectives of the scheme.”

As reported by the Indian Express, the committee said that since the inception of the scheme, Rs 848 crore had been allocated, leaving out the financial year of 2020-21 due to the pandemic. During this period, the states were given Rs 622.48 crore but “to the committee’s dismay, only 25.13 percent of the funds, i.e. Rs 156.46 crore, has been spent by the states, reflecting not up to the mark performance”.

According to Times of India, the committee has recommended that the ministry immediately take up the issue with states and “ensure proper utilisation of BBBP funds for the benefit of the girl child”. “The government should...focus on planned expenditure allocation for sectoral interventions in education and health”.