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Schemes & Programmes

SMALL FAMILY SCHEME

     The Scheme for Small Family was launched in the year 1997 with the main objective  to delay marriage and  to maintain proper spacing between the first and the second  child.

 Details of the Scheme are as follows:- 

1. Unmarried Girls attaining the age of 13 years will be provided Rs. 2500/-.  Which will be deposited as Fixed Deposit in the Joint account of the     beneficiary and CDPO in the Banks or Post Offices whichever is near and        wherever earns more interest.

2. If she remains unmarried at the age of 21 years, out of the accumulated   balance of Principle and interest, she will receive the benefit of Rs. 500/-

3. If she marries at the age of 22 years an additional incentive of Rs. 500/- will be paid to her.

4. If she marries at the age of 23 years an additional incentive of Rs. 1000/-  will  be paid to her.

5. If she has her first child after 2 years  of marriage she will get an additional incentive of Rs. 1000/-

6. If she has her second child after a gap of 3 years she will be paid an additional incentive of Rs. 1000/-

The balance remaining at the end of this particular period will be utilized for :-

1. Diverting Rs. 2500/- to start a new scheme on the above pattern for a new beneficiary.

2. Deposit the remaining amount in the interest bearing account in the name of the original beneficiary which will be available to her at the age of 50 years provided she continues to remain only with two children

.Forms are available in the office of the child development project officer of four districts and also in the head office. Applicants are recquired to submit the following along with duly filled up forms

1. Sikkim Subject Certificate/ Certificate if Identification.

2. Birth Certificate.

3. Three nos. of passport size photographs

WIDOW REMARRIAGE SCHEME 

        Widow Remarriage Scheme is a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme introduced with the primary objective to ensure social security and to raise the status of widow in the Society. With the introduction  to the Scheme, Sikkim Widow Remarriage Scheme,  1993 was formulated and from the year 1994 the Scheme got implemented throughout the State.

               An eligible person on his marrying a widow shall, on production of the certificate from the concerned Gram Panchayat  in which he is resident , or of the Priest who solemnized the marriage or of Marriage Officer, be eligible for an incentive of ten thousand rupees.

        Every eligible person marrying under this Scheme shall invariably register the marriage with the Marriage  Officer prior to filing of his claim.

        Where either of the contracting parties to a marriage under this scheme is a leper, lunatic or is of unsound mind, no such marriage shall qualify for the incentive.

        No marriage contracted against the desire  or will of either of the contracting parties to the marriage, or where either of the parties has been induced to enter into such a marriage shall  qualify for incentive under this Scheme.

        No marriage where the difference in age of the contracting parties exceeds fifteen years shall qualify for the incentive.

        Every eligible person and the widow who have remarried and propose to  avail of the incentive under this scheme shall submit before the Deputy Secretary, Women & Child Development Division, application in triplicate in Form I and IA respectively with recommendation of the concerned Gram Panchayat along with his undertaking in Form II, where necessary, accompanied by such other documents as may be required by the authority granting such incentive.

        Before payment of the incentive is made to the eligible person, he shall submit an undertaking in triplicate in Form IV that he shall not divorce or take such action as to separate the widow from him for a minimum period of ten years from the date of registration of their marriage with the Marriage Officer, failing which it shall be presumed that the marriage had been contracted malafide and necessary action to recover the amount from him shall be undertaken.

         Every application is required to be scrutinized by the Widow Remarriage Committee consisting of the following:-

Minister,
Social Welfare Department         :               Chairman

Secretary, Social Welfare
Department                                     :               Member

Secretary, Law Department         :               Member

District Collector, East                  :                Member

Chairperson, State
Social Welfare Advisory Board    :               Member

President,
Sikkim Women’s   Council          :               Member   

Deputy Secretary, Women and
child Dev. Division                        :               Member  Secretary
 

         The following documents are required to be submitted along with the filled up application forms:-

 1)                               Sikkim Subject/Certificate of Identification of
                   both husband and wife.                         

2)                              Death Certificate of the deceased husband of   the widow.

3)                         Marriage Certificate issued by the District  Collector/Marriage Officer

4)                               Clearance from in-laws of the widow

5)                           Undertaking by the husband to foster the      children of the widow from the deceased     husband

 Kishori Shakti Yojna

      Adolescence  is a crucial phase in the life of women. At this stage, she stand at the threshold of adulthood.  The stage is intermediary between childhood and womanhood and is the most eventful for mental, emotional and psychological well-being. The life cycle approach for holistic child development remains unaddressed if adolescent girls are excluded from the developmental programmes aimed at human resource development.

       As such Kishori  Shakti Yojana-a  scheme on Adolescent girls as part of the ongoing ICDS scheme has been launched with the following  objectives :

1     To improve  the nutritional  and health status of girls in the age group of 11 -18 years.

2    To provide the required literacy and necessary skills through the non-formal stream of education, to stimulate a desire for more social exposure and knowledge and to help them improve their decision making capabilities.

3  To  train and equip the adolescent girls to improve/upgrade home based and vocational skills.

4  To promote awareness of health, hygiene, nutrition & family welfare, home management  and child care and to take all measures as to facilitate their marrying only after attaining the age of 18 years and if possible even later.

5  To gain a better understanding of their environment related issues and the impact on their lives.

6 To encourage adolescent girls to initiate various production and useful activities for the society.
    A basket of programmatic options are available for selective interviews for the development of the adolescent girls on the basis of specific needs and requirements.  Some  of the options are as follows :

a)       Regular supply of Iron and Folic Acid tablets and deforming tablets with provision for nutritional and health education.

b)        Emphasis on life education including knowledge of physical and psychological development process.

c)       Emphasis on education with particular attention on school drop-out and functional literacy among illiterate adolescent girls.

d)         Vocational training activities for their economic empowerment.

e)          Improvement of social status.

Training Course on Thyaktuk Making under Kishori Shakti Yojana Nampridong-Dzangu: North Sikkim 9th to 13th feb. 2004

Participants with CDPO North and Other Resource Persons Training under Krishori Shakti Yojna 12th feb. 2004

Balika Samridhi Yojna

      This scheme was launched  by the Govt. of India in the year 1979 with a view to provide financial  assistance to the families living below poverty line to whom girl child is born and to give highest priority to ensure population stabilization with gender equity and sustained socio-economic development. Benefits under BSY will be restricted to two girl children in each household born on or after 15.8.1997 irrespective of the total number of children in the house hold.

OBJECTIVE

1. To change the family and community’s negative attitudes towards the girl child at birth and towards  her  mother.

2. To improve enrolment and retention of girl children in schools.

3.  To raise the  age of marriage of girls.

4.  To assist the girl to undertake income generating activities.

Component of BSY

      The girl children eligible  under BSY will be entitled to the following benefits :
1.      A post-birth grant amount of Rs. 500/-

2.      When the girl child born and covered under BSY starts attending the school, she will become entitled to annual scholarships as under for each successfully completed year of schooling :

Class                    Amount of Annual Scholarship

I – III                    Rs.300/- per annum for each class

IV                         Rs.500/- per annum

V                          Rs.600/- per annum

I – VII                   Rs.700/- per annum for each class

VIII                       Rs.800/- per annum

IX-X                     Rs.1000/- per annum for each class.

      The above  amounts  are required  to be deposited in an interest bearing account to be opened in the name of the beneficiary girl child and an officer designated in this behalf by the State Govt. in the Bank or Post Office. No premature withdrawal is permitted from the accounts which will mature on the girl child attaining the age of 18 years. On the girl child attaining 18 years of age and on production of a Certificate from the Gram Panchayat/District Collector that she is unmarried on her 18^th birthday, the implementing agency will authorize the bank or the post officer authorities concerned to allow her to withdraw the matured amount standing in her name in the interest bearing account.

     In the event of the beneficiary getting married before attaining the age of 18 years she shall forgo the benefit of the amounts of the annual scholarships and the interest accrued thereon and shall stand entitled only to the post-birth grant amount of Rs.500/- and the interest accrued thereon.  The  implementing agency shall, in such an event, be entitled to withdraw the value of the matured deposit of the scholarship amounts and the interest accrued thereon and utilize this fund to sanction the benefits prescribed under this Scheme to  other eligible girl children.

     In the eventuality of the death of the girl child before attaining the age of eighteen years, the accumulated amount in her account would be withdrawn by the implementing agency for payment to other eligible beneficiaries under BSY.

SWAYAMSIDHA

    With an objective to facilitate the social and economic empowerment of poor rural women through formation of Self Help Groups (SHGs), group activities and inculcating saving habit in poor women, Indira Mahila Yojana – a 100% CSS project was launched during 1996-97 and 110 SHGs were formed in South District ( lone block sanctioned for the state during the period). The project was recast and renamed – “Swayamsidha” during 2000-01 and additional 4 (four) blocks have been sanctioned for Sikkim. 

The basic constituents of the project are:

i.         Promotion of group activities and formation of homogeneous self help groups,

ii.       Promotion of saving habit in poor women,

iii.      Convergence of inter spectral services,

iv.     Income generating activities for self reliance and sustenance of the objective and

v.       Sustained process of awareness generation among the poor
        women

VISION OF SWAYAMSIDHA
The vision of Swayamsidha (Ssd) is to develop empowered women who will:

• Demand their rights from family, community and government;

• Have increased access to, and control over material social and political resources;

• Have enhanced awareness and improved skills; and

• Be able to raise issues of common concern through mobilization and networking.

OBJECTIVES

With the long term objective being the all round empowerment
of women, especially socially and economically, by insuring their direct access to, and control over resources through sustained process of mobilization and convergence of all the on-going sectoral programmes, the immediate objectives are as below:-

• Establishment of self reliant women's Self Help Group (SHGs)

• Creation of confidence and awareness among members of SHGs regarding women's status, health, nutrition, education, sanitation and hygine, legal rights, economic up liftment and other social, economic and political issues;

• Strengthening and institutionalizing the savings habit  in rural women and their control over economic resources;

• Improving access of women to micro credit; involvement of women in local level planning; and

• Convergence of services of Department of Social Welfare, Women & Child Development Division and other Departments.

Training for members of Women Self Help Group o Namchi Block on SHG Concept, Thrift and Saving, Accountancy, Economic Activities and Kitchen Garden

Working Women’s Hostel

With the progressive change in the economic structure ofthe country more and more women are living out of their homes in search of employment in big cities and urban and rural township. One of the main difficulties faced by such women is lack of suitable and safe accommodation. As such having appreciated the difficulties faced by such women, the hostel facilities to working women has been provided with the following objectives:-

• To provide accommodation for single working women unmarried, widow, divorcee, separated, married when husband is out of town;

• To provide accommodation to women who are being trained for employment provided the training period does not exceed one year.

     Two Working Women's Hostel have been established in Sikkim, one at Namchi which is run by NGO- Sikkim Women's Council and another at Deorali which is under the direct administrative control of the Department. this hostel at Deorali has the capacity of 74 inmates and provides accommodation to working women whose income does not exceed Rs.2000/- per month.

The room rent of the hostel are as follows:-

1. Single bedded room         -     Rs. 200/-p.m.
   (with attached bathroom)    

2. Three bedded room          -     Rs. 150/- p.m.
   (with common bathroom
   and toilet)

3. Four bedded room            -     Rs. 100/- p.m.
   (with common bathroom
   and toilet)

The following documents are required to be submitted alongwith an application:-

1. Sikkim Subject/Certificate of Identification.

2. Medical fitness Certificate.

3. Salary Certificate.

4. Recommendation of Panchayat/ Area MLA.

Grants to State Welfare Advisory Board (SSWAB)

    The department also implements ten Border Area Projects through the SSWAB in the West and East districts of Sikkim.

Pension to Widows of Non-Pensioner Ex-Servicemen.

    An amount of Rs.1,00,000/- is annually transferred to Rajya Sainik Board for disbursement to the widows of non pensioner, ex-servicemen @ Rs 100/- p.m.

Creches for working women’s children

     Under the supervision of Social Welfare Advisory Board, a numbers of NGOs are running 120 Creches throughout the State. 90% of the grant for the purpose is released by the Central Advisory Board and only 10% share is to be borne by the State Government. 

(I) PRADHAN MANTRI GRAMODAYA YOJNA (PMGY)

   PMGY was launched during 2000-01 with the following objectives.

1. To achieve sustainable human development at the village level.

2. To eradicate malnutrition amongst children under 3 yrs by increasing nutrition courage through the ICDS area too.

3. Under PMGY, supplementary food is being disturbed to the beneficiaries of ICDS centres and Non-ICDS areas in the following manner-

    Apart from the above programme exhibition com demonstration programmes were conducted in the following occasion.

1. Panglabsol celebration at Rabongla.
2. Maghey mal at Jorethang.
3. Janata Mela throughout the Sikkim.

      Nutrition cell also organized master training course under UDISA for MOS, CPPOS and Supeduisors for five day duration.

      Nutrition awareness as IEC under PMGY for Panchayat Presidents, members and NGOS were conducted is the four district.

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