The Hindu : New Delhi News : Newborn Prachi becomes first “Ladli”

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 08, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

New Delhi

New Delhi

Newborn Prachi becomes first “Ladli”

Staff Reporter

Delhi CM launches aid scheme to discourage female foeticide

Photo: Anu Pushkarna

Celebration time: Participants at the Women’s Day celebrations at India Gate in the Capital on Friday.

NEW DELHI: With the presentation of a deposit receipt of Rs.10,000 to the parents of a newborn girl child called Prachi, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday formally launched the “Ladli” scheme of her Government under which financial assistance would be provided to girls as part to efforts to discourage female foeticide.

Launching the scheme during the “Ladli Stree Parv 2008” organised by the newly created Department of Woman and Child Development and the Delhi Commission for Women on the eve of International Women’s Day at the India Gate lawns, Ms. Dikshit said the scheme would encourage imparting of education to the girl child and make available a huge amount for their higher studies on attaining the age of 18 years.

The Chief Minister said the “Ladli” scheme would also ensure that girls are no longer considered a burden on parents and would therefore help in checking the menace of female foeticide.

The scheme is being implemented in association with the State Bank of India which would serve as an authorised agency for secure maintenance of deposit money in phases by the Government. The Delhi Government would deposit Rs.10,000 in the name of a girl child at the time of her birth and subsequently an amount of Rs.5,000 each would be deposited at the time of her admission to Class I, Class VI, Class IX, Class X and Class XII. Finally, an accumulated amount of about Rs.1 lakh would be made available to every girl child on their attaining the age of 18 years provided they had passed at least Class X.

The scheme would be valid for all girls born in Delhi on or after January 1, 2008, and for availing of it the applicant would have to be a bona fide resident of Delhi for at least three years preceding the date of application and the annual income of the parents of the girl child should not exceed Rs.1 lakh.

The Chief Minister said to empower women in the Capital, 45 permanent Gender Resource Centres had been set up in rural and other under-developed localities to train women in employment-oriented short-term courses including cutting, tailoring, beauty-culture, stitching, painting and operating computers.

Ms. Dikshit said two mobile vans would also be deployed for women in distress and they would be stationed at the Delhi Commission for Women premises. Equipped with trained counsellors, trained women police constables for security of victims and staff, these vans would rush to the help of victims of crime.

Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Barkha Singh said the Commission had in the past few months helped in settlement of cases of rape victims through video conferencing and released a number of girls from the clutches of anti-social elements.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi