As a part of its budget announcements, the Maharashtra government announced the launch of the Shakti Sadan Scheme, which is aimed at providing shelter, medical care, counselling support and legal aid to women in distress. As per the scheme, 50 new centres will be set up across the state to provide such aid to women who have been ‘liberated from sexual exploitation or domestic violence’.
The scheme is part of a sum of ₹2,843 crore allocated by the government to the state’s women and child development department. Additionally, the construction of 50 hostels in urban areas was announced for working women. Under another scheme called the Mata Surakshit Tar Ghar Surakshit Abhiyan, about four crore women and girls are set to receive health check-ups and medication.
For women in minority communities, the government has planned to set up 3,000 self-help groups in 15 districts, which will provide them with skill development training.
As a part of budget concessions, women in the state can expect relief in different aspects. These include a concession of one per cent on stamp duty for women homebuyers, waiving of professional tax for women earning less than ₹25,000 per month and a 50 per cent concession in state transport bus tickets.
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