In September 2015, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a scheme for rehabilitation of sex workers, titled Muktir Alo. Details sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed that there have been only 75 beneficiaries since the scheme was launched.
Vipan Kumar, a city-based lawyer who filed the RTI query, said the reply also pointed out that its budget had been curtailed. “While ₹25,05,000 was sanctioned in 2016-17, the allotment came down to ₹6,44,260 for the year 2017-18,” he said . The total amount sanctioned for the project remained at ₹31,49,260. According to the lawyer, no sex worker had directly approached the government seeking the benefit.
The scheme was implemented through two NGOs: Women Interlink Foundation and Divine Script. The Women Interlink Foundation had provided training to 50 beneficiaries and Divine Script to 25 in hand block printing, cutting and tailoring, spice grinding, recycled tyre product making and management of a cafeteria.
According to Mr. Kumar, the reply showed that the much-touted scheme had not taken off in West Bengal that had recorded the highest number of cases of human trafficking in the country. The NRCB data for 2016 showed that of the 8,132 cases of human trafficking recorded in the country, 3,579 cases (around 44%) were from West Bengal.
Outdated training
Smarajit Jana, chief adviser to the Durbar Mahila Samanway Committee which operated one of the largest sex workers’ collective in the country in Kolkata’s Songachi area, said individual approach would not work as far as rehabilitation of sex workers was concerned.
“Proper rehabilitation can be only done through a community-based approach. One has to understand that training like cutting and tailoring and block printing are outdated and provides no support to those seeking rehabilitation. As long as NGOs have funds, they invest in such schemes. But beneficiaries cannot sustain themselves unless they have access to market,” Dr. Jana said.
