Maharashtra, Manipur, Tripura, two other states fail to utilise even a single penny of Nirbhaya Fund

Maharashtra, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, Sikkim and the Union Territory of Daman and Diu have scored a zero in utilising the Nirbhaya Fund, which was set up by the Centre in 2013 following massive outrage over the 2012 brutal gangrape and murder of a student in New Delhi.

Image Courtesy: Reuters

New Delhi: Maharashtra, one of the biggest states of India, along with a group of smaller states like Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, Sikkim and the Union Territory of Daman and Diu have scored a zero in utilising the Nirbhaya Fund, which was set up by the Centre in 2013 following massive outrage over the 2012 brutal gangrape and murder of a student in New Delhi.

While the above-mentioned states and UT are the laggards, other states too have performed poorly. Most of the states and Union Territories have drastically failed to fully utilise the Nirbhaya Fund. The fund aims to ensure better implementation of initiatives for enhancing the safety and security of women across the country.

A data released by the Central Government reveals that the states have been extremely reluctant in spending on women safety from the fund.

Among the 36 states and UTs in India, Maharashtra, which was allocated Rs 14940.06 lakh of Nirbhaya Fund, failed to utilise even a single penny of Nirbhaya Fund. Same has been the case in Manipur, Tripura, Sikkim, Manipur, Meghalaya and Daman and Diu. The aforementioned five states and one UT have not spent any amount from the allotted fund.

Manipur was given Rs 878.78 lakh, Tripura Rs 766.59 lakh, Meghalaya Rs 675.39 lakh, Sikkim Rs 613.33 lakh and Daman and Diu Rs 420 lakh.

The data, presented in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister of Child and Women Development Smriti Irani on November 29 reveals that Delhi spent only Rs 19.41 lakh out of Rs 390.90 lakh of Nirbhaya Fund. The situation is disappointing in Uttar Pradesh too as the state spent just Rs 3.93 lakh out of Rs 11939.85 lakh.

Karnataka government spent Rs 1362 lakh against the Rs 19172 lakh allocated to them; Telangana used Rs 4.19 lakh out of total budget of Rs 10351.88 lakh; Andhra Pradesh spent Rs 8.140 lakh out of Rs 20.85 lakh; Kerala received Rs 1971.77 lakh under Nirbhaya Fund and the state government used only Rs 472 lakh; Tamil Nadu spent Rs 600 lakh against Rs 19068.36 lakh allocated to them.

Here's a detailed break-up of the amount allocated to the states and UTs and how much did they actually spend from the fund:

Serial No.	State/Union Territory	Total funds sanctioned/allocated to State/UT (in Rs Lakh)	Utilization Certificate Received
1	Andhra Pradesh	2085.00	814.0
2	Arunachal Pradesh	768.86	224.03
3	Assam	2072.63	305.06
4	Bihar	2258.60	702.00
5	Chhattisgarh	1687.41	745.31
6	Goa	776.59	221.00
7	Gujarat	7004.31	118.50
8	Haryana	1671.87	606.00
9	Himachal Pradesh	1147.37	291.54
10	Jammu and Kashmir	1256.02	324.53
11	Jharkhand	1569.81	405.33
12	Karnataka	19172.09	1362.00
13	Kerala	1971.77	472.00
14	Madhya Pradesh	4316.96	639.50
15	Maharashtra	14940.06	0
16	Manipur	878.78	0
17	Meghalaya	675.39	0
18	Mizoram	883.57	543.68
19	Nagaland	689.55	357.84
20	Odisha	2270.53	58.00
21	Punjab	2047.08	300.00
22	Rajasthan	3373.2	1011.00
23	Sikkim	613.33	0
24	Telangana	10351.88	419.00
25	Tamil Nadu	19068.36	600.00
26	Tripura	766.59	0
27	Uttar Pradesh	11939.85	393.00
28	Uttarakhand	953.27	679.41
29	West Bengal	7570.80	692.73
30	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	653.08	147.05
31	Chandigarh	746.02	260.83
32	Dadra and Nagar Haveli	420.00	158.00
33	Daman and Diu	420.00	0
34	Delhi (UT)	39090.12	1941.57
35	Lakshadweep	614.71	76.93
36	Puducherry	496.16	128.55

The Nirbhaya Fund Framework provides for a non-lapsable corpus fund for the safety and security of women to be administered by the Department of Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Finance of the Government of India. Various ministries have proposed projects to use this fund with a view to enhance the safety and security of women, these include the Ministry of Information Technology, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Home Affairs.