Karnataka govt under fire for stopping women’s welfare schemes

The state government has decided to roll back two flagship programmes of the Women & Child Welfare Department - Santhwana and Mathrushree - inviting flak from various quarters, including the Opposition.

A government note in this regard (dated May 11) issued by the finance department stated that the Mathrushree programme, meant for pregnant women, would be stopped from the current financial year.

The department has cited that a similar programme of the Centre, Mathru Vandana, was simultaneously being implemented. Under Mathru Vandana, pregnant women get financial aid of Rs 5,000, with a 60:40 share between the central and state governments.

"The state government is also fulfilling the nutrition requirement of pregnant women under Mathrupoorna scheme. Hence, Mathrushree programme will be stopped..." the note read.

While Mathrushree was announced in 2018 under the H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government, the Pradhan Mantri Mathru Vandana scheme was announced in 2017. The allowance under Mathrushree given to pregnant women was planned by the then government in addition to the central government's scheme.

As for the Santhwana scheme meant for women in distress, the government was already implementing centrally-sponsored One Stop Centres. Hence, this too would be stopped, according to the note. The scheme was first rolled out in 2001-02 during the SM Krishna regime.

The Santhwana centres worked as rehabilitation centres for women in distress including those suffering domestic violence. However, the One Stop Centres are more recent, introduced in 2017-18 by the union government.

Kumaraswamy decried the move to stop the Santhwana scheme during the pandemic, when domestic violence cases had increased.

"How ironic! The government has opened takeaway alcohol shops, but shuts down Santhwana centres. Giving the bottle to the man while shutting down care centres for victims of domestic violence. So very thoughtful!," he mocked in a tweet.

Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah also criticised the move. "The Santhwana centres were meant for protection of women in distress. The government now wants to shut them. Likewise, Mathrushree scheme was to cater to pregnant women. The scheme contributed to reducing maternal mortality in the state. By rolling these back, the government has done injustice to women. If the government cares about women, it must immediately withdraw the order," he said.