Thiruvananthapuram: K.M. Abraham, after taking over as the chief secretary, has at least twice said that the creation of Nirbyaya homes for victims of sexual abuse was an achievement he cherished the most in his professional life. However, the manner in which the state government has stifled the functioning of these homes is sure to be an embarrassment to the chief secretary.
These homes are not just inadequately funded, but even the promised funds do not reach them on time. As of now, the unpaid arrears have mounted to Rs 34 lakh. There are two ways in which the state transfers money to the 11 Nirbhaya homes in the state. The first mode is an advance payment to each home at the rate of Rs 2,650 per inmate; the money is for food, education, transportation and medical expenses. Then there is a monthly quota of Rs 5,000 each for occupational therapy and ‘other medical expenses’ for each home. These payments are promptly made.
Reimbursement claims make up the other source of funds to these homes. The homes have been officially told to initiate programmes for the girls under arts, crafts and sports. They just have to submit the bills to get the reimbursement. Same is the case with outing for inmates. Reality is, these claims are either not settled or delayed. The Child Rights Commission had earlier ordered the Social Justice Department to clear the pending bills before December 15, 2016. Some money has been paid, but Rs 34 lakh is still pending.
The non payment has forced home authorities to discontinue activities that would have given emotionally scarred girls a psychological boost. Outing, for instance. “Since we know that the money will not be paid, we stopped taking the girls out,” said P.E. Usha, the state project director of Mahila samakhya, which runs eight of the 11 homes in the state. Mahila Samakhya’s homes alone have 275 inmates in homes spacious enough for less than 200. The Rs 5,000 allocated for occupational therapy (training in arts and crafts) is a pittance. “We need to create separate batches for inmates, and rope in separate trainers for different vocations. The cost of training of one batch in one vocation alone will go over Rs 5,000,” Ms Usha said.
The amount earmarked for medical expenses (Rs 5,000) is shocking for its stinginess. “We are dealing with children with a wide spectrum of illnesses. We have HIV-infected girls, those with mental instability, with mental retardation, and epileptic girls,” Ms Usha said. And for such emotionally traumatised girls, there is no psychiatric care either. It was said that a part-time counsellor would be paid Rs 5000. Not surprisingly, there has not been a single applicant.
