Paul John TNN
Patan: This farmer was responsible for resurrecting a defunct programme — Balika Samruddhi Yojana (BSY) — which for the betterment of the status of girl child in Patan, one of the worst district in terms of skewed sex ratio in the state.
Naresh Parmar’s RTI proved to be a boon for 4,000 mothers of girl children who will get financial assistance from the government in the form of a fixed deposit between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000.
The fixed deposit can be encashed once the girl completes matriculation.
Envisioned to give girl child an incentive, BSY was announced in 1997, three years before the 2001 census declared Patan district as one of the worst affected by female foeticide problem.
Under the scheme, government deposited money every month in mother’s account to ensure education and development of the girl child.
But the village-level health workers failed to inform the locals of such a programme and the state health department did not bother to go ahead with the scheme.
Parmar, however, came to know of such a programme and filed an RTI to know whether the programme was in force.
“BSY was an election promise and once elections are over, the promises are forgotten. I wanted to ensure that the promises are met. I filed an RTI to know how many mothers in Patan availed benefit of the scheme. None — I was told,” says Parmar.
He later filed an RTI asking names of officers and departments responsible for overseeing the implementation of the programme in the district.
“The officer incharge immediately informed me that the programme would be implemented the following day. Also in the first lot, nearly 400 women were given the benefit,” adds Parmar.
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