The Allahabad High court seeking a reply from the Government of Uttar Pradesh in the next coming four weeks on the PIL filed by Mamta Singh. The complaint was filed against not using the Nirbhaya Fund for women’s safety and the victims.
The order was passed by the division bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice S.S. Shamsheri against the PIL filed by advocate Mamta Singh. The petition contains the expenditure details and steps taken by each state for the safety of women from the Nirbhaya Fund.
After the heart-wrenching incident that took place in the capital city of India in 2012, a fund of Rs 1,000 crore was sanctioned by the Central Government in the name of women’s safety, protection, and for women’s rights. Crores of funds have been collected by making Nirbhaya Fund and allocated to the state Government for the protection and safety of women, but the fund was put on hold by Uttar Pradesh Government.
The petitioner states that, according to the data from 18 states, only 15 percent of the fund has been used, i.e., only 11 percent (Rs 252 crore) of the entire amount. Only three percent is spent from Nirbhaya Fund by Kerala and Tripura and four percent by Manipur. In a similar manner West Bengal, Delhi, and Gujrat have spent five percent of the fund; Orissa, Karnataka, and Telangana spent only six percent from their Nirbhaya Fund. Not even a single rupee was spent by Maharashtra Government until 2019. The petition has been asked to be presented for proceeding on February 2.
The careless behavior of each state shows the importance of women’s safety and security in the eye of our Government.