Last month, I was in Bhubaneshwar for a book release commemorating 19 years of Navin Patnaik as the chief minister. While I prepared for the panel discussion, I was pleasantly surprised to note that the Odisha government had recognised the need to address specific issues faced by women, such as domestic violence and access to government schemes.
A decade ago, the Odisha government set up a ‘Gender Budget Cell’ in the department of women and child development. Its mandate was to provide technical inputs for gender planning, gender budgeting, gender analysis and audit of policies, programmes and outcomes. It was expected to cover all 41 government departments, especially key departments such as panchayati raj, rural development, agriculture and farmer’s empowerment and revenue.
However, the budget allocated for the cell was a meagre Rs 15 lakh. It has remained at this level for the past three budget cycles. Further, the cell is led by a consultant. Those familiar with the functioning of government departments will know that a consultant does not have much influence. In some ways, the cell has been reduced to a toothless body.
Source: The Wire
