Sonia to launch special scheme for women in NE

Guwahati, Feb 7: The Integrated Scheme for Women's Empowerment (ISWE), exclusively for the North Eastern states, including Sikkim, will be launched at an NE Women's meet by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on February 9.

The ISWE, a pilot project of the Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) for the NE states, would target area and community based funding to uplift the women of the region.

CSWB chairperson Rajani Patil said, ''During our interactions with the women of the region, we realised that the NE cannot be covered under a blanket programme.'' ''Women here want funds for building ropeways in the hilly terrain. There are many more such instances where we cannot expect the women to benefit if the schemes applicable for the rest of the country are implemented here,'' she added.

Ms Patil said under the ISWE, all backward and onward linkages have been tapped.

She said, ''From identifying viability of a project in a particular area to providing training to marketing of the products, all aspects would be covered under this integrated scheme.'' She also informed that Rs 10.72 lakh would be provided for every project and the ISWE was being launched as a part of the 11th five-year plan.

Member of the National Women Council Neeba Kunwar, also present at the press meet, pointed out that the number of NGOs working at the grassroots level in Asom was very small.

She said, ''The NGOs here are not aware of the various developmental schemes. They are hesitant to approach the authorities for assistance, even when funds are not a problem for good projects.'' The NGOs already working in the welfare sectors were hesitant to pass on their expertise to new NGOs and there was a lack of coordination among them, she added.

UNI