Parliament Question: Women Safety Initiatives in West Bengal

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *299 ANSWERED ON 07.08.2026 WOMEN SAFETY INITIATIVES IN WEST BENGAL *299. SHRI SAUMITRA KHAN

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

(a) the details of initiatives approved in West Bengal under the Nirbhaya Fund including One Stop Centres, Women Help Desks, Emergency Response Support System (112), CCTV surveillance, safe transport and other women safety interventions, project-wise;

(b) the current status of the implementation of the said projects, indicating whether the sanctioned projects are functional/operational;

(c) the details of the monitoring/evaluation mechanisms in place to ensure timely completion/effective utilisation of funds, particularly in rural and remote areas of the State;

(d) whether any new projects have been proposed/approved to strengthen women’s safety infrastructure in the State under the Nirbhaya Fund, if so, the details thereof; and

(e) the details of the funds allocated, sanctioned, released/utilised under the Nirbhaya Fund in the State during the last five years, year-wise? ANSWER MINISTER FOR WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House. *****STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 299 FOR ANSWER ON 07.08.2026 RAISED BY SHRI SAUMITRA KHAN REGARDING WOMEN SAFETY INITIATIVES IN WEST BENGAL

(a): Aimed at enhancing the safety and security of women and girls in the country, Nirbhaya Fund has been set up as a dedicated non-lapsable corpus fund administered by the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance in accordance with the framework and guidelines issued from time to time. The Projects/ Schemes under Nirbhaya Fund that have been implemented/ are being implemented in the State of West Bengal include, (i) Emergency Response Support System (ERSS)-112, (ii) Safe City project implemented in 8 Cities including Kolkata, (iii) One Stop Centers (OSCs), (iv) Setting-up/ Strengthening Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTU), (v) Setting-up/ Strengthening Women Help Desk (WHDs), (vi) Cyber Crime Prevention against Women & Children (CCPWC), (vii) Cyber forensic and related facilities in State Forensic Science Laboratories (SFSLs) in Kolkata, (viii) Training of Investigating Officers (IOs)/ Prosecution Officers (POs)/ Medical Officers (MOs) in Forensic Evidence collection, (ix) Central Victim Compensation Funds (CVCF), (x) State-wise Vehicle Tracking Platform (VTP), (xi) Setting up Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) to dispose of cases pending trial under the rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, (xii) Sensitization of men towards women related issues including safety and security of women and (xiii) Freedom from Violence: Capacity Building of Elected Women Representatives on Legal Provisions on safety and security of women.

(b): The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has implemented many of the projects. Of these, the completed projects include, ERSS-112, CVCF, Setting-up/ Strengthening Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTU), Cyber Crime Prevention against Women & Children (CCPWC), Training of Investigating Officers (IOs)/ Prosecution Officers (POs)/ Medical Officers (MOs) in Forensic Evidence collection. The ongoing projects are Safe City project implemented in 8 Cities including Kolkata, Setting-up/ Strengthening WHDs, Cyber forensics and related facilities in SFSL in Kolkata. In addition, ongoing projects include, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways’ State-wise VTP and the Ministry of Law and Justice’s FTSCs including exclusive POCSO courts which is also ongoing. Further, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has recently started implementing the projects namely Sensitization of men towards women

related issues including safety and security of women and Freedom from Violence: Capacity Building of Elected Women Representatives on Legal Provisions on safety and security ofwomen. At present 24 OSCs are functional in West Bengal, one in Darjeeling and the other in Siliguri and one each in rest of the 22 districts. All the OSCs are located in the buildings of Government Hospitals with the exception of Alipurduar, where it is located in Sufal Bangla building.

(c) & (d): Projects are conceptualized, planned and brought to the Inter-Ministerial Empowered Committee (EC) for appraisal and recommendation. Upon appraisal and recommendation of the proposals by the EC, the sponsoring Ministry’s respective Competent Financial Authority

(CFA) gives the approval, after which the allocation of funds from the Nirbhaya Fund is made in the Budget of the sponsoring Ministry/ Department by the Ministry of Finance from the Nirbhaya Fund. For projects/ schemes which require recurring expenditure, funds are released upon receipt of Utilisation Certificates (UCs) and Statement of Expenditure (SoE) from the Implementing Ministries/Departments/ State Governments/ UTs, as required, as per provisions of General Financial Rules (GFR). The Inter Ministerial Empowered Committee reviews the status of implementation of projects, and expenditure on approved projects from time to time in conjunction with the concerned Ministries/ Departments/ State Governments/ UTs. The concerned sponsoring Ministries/ Departments/ State Governments/ UTs also monitor the progress of implementation at their own levels.

(e): The details of the funds allocated, sanctioned, released/utilised under the Nirbhaya Fund in West Bengal during the last five years, year-wise are at Annexure. *****Annexure ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (E) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *299 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.08.2026 REGARDING ‘WOMEN SAFETY INITIATIVES IN WEST BENGAL’ Details of funds released/ utilized for the projects in West Bengal Amount in Rs Crores FY FY FY FY FY Ministries Sl.no Project Name 2021- 2022- 2023- 2024- 2025- 22 23 24 25 26 1 Safe City Kolkata 0.00 26.25 0.00 25.00 1.97 2 Strengthening of SFSL 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Ministry of Home Affairs Setting up/ Strengthening 3 Women Help Desks in Police 2.50 0.05 0.20 0.25 0.00 Stations Cyber Crime Prevention 4 against Women & Children 0.24 0.00 0.26 0.00 0.00

(CCPWC) * Setting up Fast Track Department of Special Courts to dispose off 5 0.71 1.11 1.29 Justice cases pending trial under Rape & POCSO Act Ministry of Road ** State-wise Vehicle Transport & 6 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Tracking Platform (VTP) Highway Ministry of Women & Child 7 One Stop Centre (OSC) Development

2.27 0.28 0.00 6.41 2.91 * The State of West Bengal joined the scheme in 2023 ** No funds released in the last five years. However, Rs 4.19 Cr was released in FY 2020-21. *****