Concentrating on scaling up the rate of women employment in the state, the Uttar Pradesh government has planned to initiate the construction of Panchayat Bhavans and community toilets in all gram panchayats of Uttar Pradesh. These are being viewed as a means of empowering women, by generating positions of responsibility, fulfilling the intent of the domestic campaign of Mission Shakti in the state.
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The state has as many as 58,079 gram panchayats, covering almost all regions by constructing 56,960 community toilets, the Government aims to improve the standard of both, position of women in the society and level of hygiene. Out of these, around 18,847 units have been built till now and about 35,058 are near completion.
The Uttar Pradesh government has announced that every Panchayat Bhavan will have a bank branch and each community toilet will have a woman sanitation worker as the caretaker, who will get an honorarium of Rs 6,000 per month. With 56,960 community toilets in the gram panchayats, one woman associated with a volunteer support group will be employed as a sanitation worker-cum-caretaker
Maintenance tools for the toilets such as brooms, brushes, wipers, sponges, buckets, mugs, mop, soap, harpic (toilet cleaner), washing powder, air freshners, gloves and masks will be readily available. During the raging corona crisis, it will also employ people engaged in the business of toiletries. Besides, plumbers and electricians will also get work from time to time, promoting opportunities. The government has allocated ₹1,200 per toilet for six months, ₹1,000 per toilet every month for sanitation items and Rs 500 per toilet every month for maintenance purposes.
With the Government's objective of turning Panchayat Bhavans to mini-village secretariats, various offices will be opened up at these local governing bodies. These will include the positions of 'pradhan' (village head), accountant, secretary, employment assistant and organisations such as the National Nutrition Mission (NNM), ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) and panchayat members. All centres are connected by optical fibres and have high-speed Internet connectivity. Officials concerned with village development will meet at regular intervals to discuss the upliftment of the villages.
Employment will further be boosted by upgrading Panchayat Bhavans to provide with documents and certificates such as caste, income, birth-death, pension, preventing the need to go to the Tehsil offices. This move will employ at least four to five persons in a village. Additional Chief Secretary Panchayati has projected the employment of nearly 58,079 poor women via these schemes and programmes of the government, including those who will directly get employment with the construction of community toilets and Panchayat Bhavans.
-With inputs from IANS
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