Lok Sabha Question No. 2822 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-17
Subject: Safe Public Transport for Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Gomati Sai

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 2822

TO BE ANSWERED ON 17.03.2023

## SAFE PUBLIC TRANSPORT FOR WOMEN

## 2822. SHRIMATI GOMATI SAI.:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- a. whether women/girls are facing many challenges like not getting seats/molestation  while  using  public  transport  in  Chhattisgarh  and  if  so,  the steps being taken by the Government of check the said problems;
- b. whether  measures  have  been  taken  by  the  authorities  to  ensure  safe  and smooth public transport ride for the women;
- c. if so, the details thereof and the quantum of funds allocated in this regard; and
- d. if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) to (d) : Transportation by Road is a State Subject and maintenance of law & order in  the  State  is  ensured  by  the  law  enforcement  agencies  of  the  respective  State. However, Government of India attaches highest importance to the safety and security of women using the public transport system and has taken a number of initiatives in this  direction  over  the  past  few  years  to  support  and  supplements  the  efforts  of  the States / UTs.

The  Empowered  Committee  (EC)  of  officers  constituted  under  Nirbhaya  Fund  has appraised  and  recommended  a  number  of projects  of  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for funding under Nirbhaya Fund that are essentially meant for safety and security of women using public transport system. The details of some major projects are as under:

(i)  Customization,  deployment  and  management  of  State-wise  AIS  140  vehicle tracking platform : The project is for customization, deployment and management of State-wise Vehicle Tracking Platform for safety &  enforcement with AIS 140 specification. An  amount  of  Rs.465.02  Crore  has  been  appraised  by  EC  for implementation of the project. As reported by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, a total of Rs. 192.95 crore has been released under the project including Rs. 4.192 Crs.  released  to  State  Government  of  Chattisgarh.  Memorandum  of  Understanding (MoU) have been signed with 30 States / UTs and Monitoring Centres have been commissioned  in  Bihar,  Puducherry,  Himachal  Pradesh,  West  Bengal  and Sikkim.

(ii)  Abhaya Project  Proposal  (Andhra  Pradesh)  : The  project  is  for  installation  of ' IoT ' (Internet  of  Things)  device  and  related  software  in  public  transport  vehicles  in Vishakhapatnam and Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh on pilot basis. Proposal was approved with total estimated cost of Rs. 138.49 Crore and Central Share of Rs. 58.64 Crore was released. The fixation of IoT devices in 15,000 autos has been completed.

(iii)  Women ' s  safety  in  public  transport,  Uttar  Pradesh  State  Road  Transport Corporation,  Government  of  Uttar  Pradesh :   The  project  include  purchase  of  50 ladies  pink  Buses,  CCTV,  Panic  buttons  and   controllers  on  12500  buses,  24 interceptors, Advocacy/ Advertisements/ Awareness Campaign'. An amount of Rs.83.50 Crore was appraised by EC for implementation of the project. As reported by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, an amount of Rs. 80.92 crore has been released. Purchase of 50 Pink Buses and 40 Interceptors have been completed.

(iv) Women ' s Safety Initiative by Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Govt. of Karnataka : BMTC project include Women  Lounges at important stations,  Gender Sensitization and women safety  protocol  training for ground staff, Sarathi Squads/ Mobile Police Patrol Vehicles, Advocacy, advertisement and Awareness  Campaign  on  Women's  safety,  Training  women  for  Heavy  passenger Vehicle (HPV) and Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) licenses, CCTV Surveillance cameras for  1000  buses,  Mobile  application  to  improve  functionalities  on  women  safety  and Passenger   information  Display  in  Bus  Stops.  As  reported  by  Ministry  of  Road Transport & Highways, 18 women lounges have been completed in 18 bus terminals, 27,000 staff trained, web tool design and dash board work is completed and pilot run deployed  at  2  depots  for  testing  of  Gender  Sensitization  Assessment  Tool,  self defence training of 2196 women employees, procurement of 25 patrol vehicles and 11 Light Motor Vehicles, installation of 2426 CCTV Cameras, 1213 Mobile Network Video Recorder (mNVR),08 PIS display system-5, 1213 Panic Buttons and 1213 Automatic Tracking  Device  (ATD)  have  been  completed.  A  total  of  Rs.  33.64  crore  has  been released under the project.

(v)  Installation  of  Vehicle  Tracing  Devices  with  SOS  Buttons  in  Buses  of Telangana  State  Road  Transport  Corporation  (TSRTC)  with  monitoring  from Central Command Control Centre (State Government of Telangana) - Based on the comments  /  recommendations  of  Ministry  of  Road  Transport  &  Highways,  the  EC appraised this proposal in its meeting held on 17.10.2022 for funding under Nirbhaya Fund with a cost of Rs. 19.21 crore.

(vi)  Emergency Response Support System (ERSS): ERSS is a pan-India, single, internationally  recognized  number,  i.e.  112  based  system  for  various  emergencies, with computer aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress. ERSS has been operationalized in all 36 States/UTs. Over 25 crore calls have been handled by ERC Centres since launch of 112 services and over 11 lakh downloads of 112 India App have been reported.

(vii)  Safe  City  Projects  : Safe  City  Projects  are  comprehensive  and  integrated projects  developed  by  the  Police  and  Municipal  Corporations  of  the  city,  in  keeping with  the  demands  of  their  women  citizens  and  to  plug  any  gaps  in  existing infrastructure.  The  project  adds  many  dimensions  to  safety  of  women  and  children, like  the  use  of  drones,  installation  of  CCTV  cameras  with  Facial  Recognition  or

Automatic  Number  Plate  Recognition  to  track  and  alert  Police  about  criminals  and criminal  activity,  technology-enabled  infrastructure  like  smart  lighting  systems  which glow as soon as it gets dark to eliminate dark alleys and crime hot-spots from cities, toilets for women and capacity building in community through awareness programmes.

(viii) Cyber Crime Prevention against Women & Children (CCPWC): The Ministry of Home Affairs has provided financial assistance to all States/ UTs to set up cyber forensic cum training laboratories, hiring of Junior Cyber Consultant and training/capacity building to provide hands-on training to Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) investigators, prosecutors and judicial officers. Over 20000 Police personnel, Prosecutors, and Judicial Officers have been trained in handling cyber-crime related cases.  A  National  Cyber  Crime  Reporting  Portal  (www.cybercrime.gov.in)  has  been launched, which allowed citizens to report online content pertaining to Child Pornography/Child  Sexual  Abuse  Material  or  sexually  explicit  content  such  as Rape/Gang Rape Content. A toll free number 1930 has also been made operational in all States / UTs for reporting of such incidents.

(ix)  Strengthening of State FSLs (in 28 States): An amount of Rs. 235.683 Crore was approved under Nirbhaya Fund for strengthening DNA analysis cyber forensics and related facilities in 28 States. The aim and objective of the project is to strengthen the  DNA  analysis  and  Cyber  Forensic  Facilities  in  these  states  relating  to  cases  of sexual assaults.

(x)  Setting  up  and  strengthening  Anti-Human  Trafficking  Units  (AHTUs)  in  all districts of States &UTs: The project aim to provide counselling and support to the victims of trafficking. As on date, 788 AHTUs are functional [768 - states/ UTs & 20 -Border Security Force (BSF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)]. As reported by Ministry  of  Home  Affairs,  BSF  has  rescued  103  victims  since  2021  and  SSB  has rescued  396  victims  and  apprehended  94  traffickers  since  2021.  SSB  has  also established a dedicated helpline no. 1903. Training sessions are also organised by the States / UTs from time to time for police officials to handle trafficking cases.

(xi) Setting up/ strengthening Women Help Desks (WHDs) in Police Stations in all  States  &  UTs: The  project  focuses  on making  the  Police  Stations  more  women friendly  and  approachable  as  the  first  and  single  point  of  contact  for  any  woman walking into a police station. WHDs have been set up in 13101 Police Stations .

(xii)  Setting  up  of  1023  Fast  Track  Special  Courts  (FTSCs): The  project  aims setting up of 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) to dispose off 1,66,958 cases of rape, and offences under POCSO Act pending for trial, across the country. At present, 768 FTSCs including 418 exclusive POCSO courts are operational in  28  States which disposed  more  than  1,30,000  cases up  to  30.11.2022.  Total  amount  of Rs.621.49 crore has been released from Nirbhaya Fund as Central Share.

(xiii) One Stop Centre (OSC) :  The objectives of the One Stop Centres are to provide integrated support and assistance to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces under one roof and facilitate immediate, emergency and non-emergency access  to  a  range  of  services  including  police,  medical,  legal  aid  and  counselling, psychological support to fight against any forms of violence against women. The OSC scheme has been included as a component of sub-scheme ' Sambal ' under umbrella scheme ' Mission Shakti ' for  a  period  upto  2025-26.  So far an amount of Rs. 728.14 crore has  been  released  by  MWCD  to  States/  UTs.  733  OSCs  have  been operationalised  in  36  States/UTs  and  over  6.70  lakh  women  have  been  assisted through theses OSCs till date.

(xiv)  Universalisation  of  Women  Helpline  (WHL)  Scheme aims to provide an immediate and 24 hour emergency and non-emergency response to women affected by violence across the country by referral service. Under the Scheme, a  toll-free  24-hours  telecom  service  through  short  code  181  is  provided  to  women seeking  support  and  information.  Women  helpline  is  operational  in  34  States/ UTs.   The  CCEA  has  approved  continuation  of  scheme  as  a  component  of  subscheme ' Sambal ' under umbrella scheme ' Mission Shakti ' for a period upto 2025-26. So far an amount of Rs. 80.16 crore has been released by MWCD to States/ UTs

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