To help girls maintain hygiene and beat the spread of infections, Belagavi Zilla Panchayat will distribute sanitary napkins to adolescent girls in schools and colleges under the Shuchi project. Initially, around 2.5 lakh girls in government and aided schools and hostels of various government departments will get the napkins. Officials expect the number to increase as this is a demand-driven scheme.
It will be a big logistics exercise, admit officials. The taluk health officers will seek a list of admissions to government and aided schools of girls in the 10-19 age group. The list is collated at the district level and sent to the state Health and Family Welfare Ministry. The State government will procure and provide the napkins to the districts. As per the rules, each beneficiary will get a packet of 10 napkins per month.
“Senior officials have told us that we will be getting supplies once in two or three months. We will distribute the packets accordingly,” Appasab Naratti, District Health and Family Welfare Officer, said.
However, activists have some objections to the scheme. “One thing that we can all agree upon is that this is a welcome scheme aimed at the welfare of girls. But we have some questions,” says Anjali of Jana Jagruti Vedike.
According to government figures, adolescent girls form around 22 % of the population in the State. Accordingly, there are eight lakh teenaged girls in Belagavi district. They will need 80 lakh napkins per month.
However, in the first phase, “we are getting only around 2.5 lakh napkins as the government has chosen schools and hostels as channels of distribution. What about poor girls who are denied schooling and are at home? What about girls who are married early and sent to their husbands places?” she asked. She urged the government to come up with a solution to this problem.
She also felt that the Government Order notes that the scheme will be financed under the Special Component Plan and the Tribal Sub Plan of the Health and Family Welfare Department. But the napkins will be distributed to students of all categories. Special Component Plan and the Tribal Sub Plan funds are meant for the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities. The government should not use these funds for this project, if it plans to serve the beneficiaries of all categories. The government should set up a fund for the project, she said.
R. Ramachandran, Belagavi Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer, clarified that the scheme was being financed under a different head. But for the sake of documenting the amount spent on benefits given to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities, officials have been asked to maintain accounts for these communities.
