The budget for the project has also been slashed from Rs 244.48 crore to Rs 18 crore.
In what could become a contentious issue, the Narendra Modi government has downsized its first large-scale initiative for women, trimming the plan for a rape crisis centre in every district. Now, there will be only one centre in every state or Union Territory. The budget for the project has also been slashed from Rs 244.48 crore to Rs 18 crore.
Union women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi had suggested 660 'Nirbhaya Centres' - one each in the 640 districts and another 20 in the six metros. Now, there will be just 36, and their locations will be decided by the state governments.
The decision has been met with severe criticism from women's groups.
"Our information is that the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) has remarked that the police are sensitive enough and that there is no need for such centres," Jagmati Sangwan of the All India Democratic Women's Association said to the Telegraph.
She slammed the new plan, calling it "an impractical solution to a problem of mammoth proportions".
"If a woman is raped in Jaisalmer, say, she will not go to a crisis centre in Jaipur," Sangwan argued in her statement to the Telegraph.
"This is a strong indicator of how the PMO is detached from reality, and shows this government's tendency for over-centralisation."
The original proposal, mooted in June 2014, envisaged double-storey centres costing Rs 36.98 lakh each. They were to be one-stop centres for assaulted women, easily accessible and offering a "protected shelter, where the victims could be counselled, treated and rehabilitated".
But the logic provided for cutting down on number of centres can be described as convoluted at best. PMO officials reportedly felt there was no need to 'waste money on standalone buildings' to house these centres. A suggestion was put forth to have these centres in government hospitals instead. But it was scuttled because the government felt this would make the centres 'too public'. In short, no centres.
Officials in the PMO had objected to "wasting money" over standalone buildings, suggesting the centres be set up at government hospitals. Ministry officials felt this would make the centres too "public" for the victims.
"As of now, the centres will be built or rented near hospital buildings," a senior ministry official told the Telegraph.
Under the approved plan, each centre will have nine employees, including a paramedic who will refer the complainants to hospitals, a lawyer, a counsellor, and a retired police officer not below the rank of inspector to help the complainants file FIRs.
The centre will double as a short-stay home for the complainants and, if necessary, refer them to long-term homes.
It may also have a video-conferencing facility with the police and the courts, to be overseen by IT staff. Each centre will also have an integrated helpline.
Furthermore, a 'national task force' headed by the ministry secretary will evaluate the functioning of all the centres annually.
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