Vijaya Laxmi Bhadoo, chairperson of the board, says punitive action against the units, most which are in Amritsar, was taken during surprise checks, which found that they were not functioning properly and had also failed to keep proper audit accounts and official records.

“We had been keeping a close watch on some of the government-funded crèches after getting the reports of discrepancies in their functioning. Most of the units were earlier warned to maintain proper official records. But on surprise checks, we found that they were neither providing proper nutrition to the children nor managing funds well,” says Bhadoo. NGOs get Rs 40,000 per annum for running the crèche; the state government has a fund of Rs 1.2 crore for the project.

Bhadoo, who took over as chairperson of PSWB in November last, says the state government has sanctioned more than Rs 1 crore to the PSWB for implementation of ‘Swawalamban: Vocational Training Programmes for Women for 2008-09’. “The project proposed for 35 different trades will be operational in rural areas of the state. This will help make rural women self-employed and empowered,” she says.

Bhadoo says they have also planned to open ‘Parivar Paramarsh Kendra’ or family counselling centres in all the districts of Punjab. At present, only 16 districts have the facility. Each woman counsellor at the centre will get Rs 5,500 per month, besides other expenses.

She says the PSWB also plans to increase the Destitute Women Centres in the state from the existing four, which are situated in Amritsar, Patiala and Sangrur. The board has opened nine round-the-clock helpline centres in Amritsar, Faridkot, Patiala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Sangrur districts to assist women in distress.