Lack of coordination between officials delaying Nirbhaya Fund: DCW chief

The One Stop Centres (OSC), a scheme under the Nirbhaya Fund, is getting delayed in Delhi due to lack of coordination between officials of the Delhi government and the Union Women and Child Development Ministry, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal said on Tuesday.

"DCW is ready to work upon One Stop Centres but the bureaucrats are not keen on taking this ahead. Neither the ministry officials nor the state government bureaucrats are meeting each other and discussing on fund sharing and setting up centres," she said.

Apart from West Bengal, Delhi was another state who did not use any fund under Nirbhaya Fund for the setting up of OSC.

According to Woman and Child Development Ministry sources, Delhi Chief Ministry Arvind Kejriwal had earlier refused to build or allocate space for OSCs, but recently agreed to the implementation of the scheme in the national capital.

"I will be meeting Woman and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi and will see how early this issue can be sorted out," Maliwal said.

Being established across the country to provide integrated support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces in phased manner, the OSCs support all women including girls below 18 years of age affected by violence, irrespective of caste, class, religion, region, sexual orientation or marital status.

Currently, there are 170 OSCs across the country, apart from Bengal and Delhi.

--IANS

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