According to the sources in the know, as per the new draft of the scheme, only emergency funds needed for medical purposes will be issued to the victim on filing of the FIR while the remaining funds will be released only on completion of the trial, and if the accused is convicted.
It's final. The women and child development department's ambitious Manodhariya scheme – launched to give financial assistance to victims of rape and child abuse, and was found to be gravely misused – has gone for a review.
According to the sources in the know, as per the new draft of the scheme, only emergency funds needed for medical purposes will be issued to the victim on filing of the FIR while the remaining funds will be released only on completion of the trial, and if the accused is convicted.
The current scheme gives an amount ranging between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh to the victim, depending upon the severity of the case, with separate funds of up to Rs50,000 for injuries and incidental costs such as travel and medical expenditure. Of the sanctioned money, 25% is released immediately on registration of an FIR whereas the remaining 75% is put in a fixed deposit with a lock in period of three years.
In April this year, the department, flooded with complaints of connivance between the victim and the accused to avail the compensation money, had written to the district administrations to verify claims and submit a detail report on the number and nature of such complaints. The alarm was also raised by the finance department which was shocked to receive regular demands from the department for more and more funds. In May, the commissioner office in Pune recommended review of the scheme after verifying the complaints.
“Although we are yet to receive report from every district, prime facie it appears that the scheme needs a review and there is some misuse on the ground level. The new draft will be more on the lines of the Centre's rehab scheme. It is expected to be placed before the cabinet this month,” said a senior officer.
The scheme was launched barely three years ago and over Rs 50 crore has already been disbursed under the scheme. In last one year the department has sanctioned Rs 36 crore for rehabilitation purpose whereas when the scheme was launched in September 2013 it had a sanctioned limit of Rs 8 crore.
Since the inception of the scheme the government has received 4,809 cases for disbursal of compensation of which 3,714 cases received a sanction after verification.
Meanwhile, the Bombay high court time and again pulled up the state government over its halfhearted implementation of the scheme. In February 2015, the court had directed the government to spell out its efforts towards publicising the scheme among the survivors, as well as the police and investigating authorities.
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