Nitish govt bats for girl child

PATNA: It may still take Bihar a long time to shake off the tag of a BIMARU state, but the initiatives taken by the Nitish Kumar government for the emancipation of women has certainly improved the state’s image.

Though Rabri Devi became the first female chief minister of the state and remained in power for seven years, most of the welfare schemes for women including 50 per cent reservation for them in the three-tier panchayat and civic bodies were initiated by Nitish Kumar.

He also reserved 50 per cent jobs for them in all government-owned primary and secondary schools. More than one lakh women have already been given jobs as teachers during the last two years.

And a similar numbers of women are likely to become teachers when the second phase of appointment which starts in the next couple of months. Now, the Bihar government has decided in principle to bring two unique schemes for the impoverished girl child.

The schemes, Kanya Labh Yojna and Kanya Vivah Yojna, formulated by the social welfare department will be unveiled by the chief minister on November 24 when his government completes two years in office.

Sources said that the state government not only aims to check social ills like female infanticide and child marriage by these schemes but would also encourage population control by adopting the two-child norm in the poor families and motivate the parents to educate the female children.

Under the first scheme “Kanya Labh Yojna” the state government gives a gift to the girl child from an economically weaker family in the form of a LIC policy at the time of her birth. The policy, with its maturity value of Rs 20,000, would be paid to the beneficiary when she becomes 18.

The number of beneficiaries will be restricted to two girl children per family having an annual income of less than Rs 60,000.