Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad   

CM favours quota for women in legislatures

By Our Special Correspondent

Hyderabad March 8. The Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, has said reservation for women in Parliament and Assemblies is a "must'' and this is the opportune time to do so because of the delimitation exercise going on for constituencies.

In a reference to the pending Women's Bill before Parliament, the Telugu Desam president criticised that some political parties were using empty words and preventing its passage. Women would reject such parties. Mr. Naidu was emphatic to say that there was need for women in politics as there would be umpteen gains.

The Chief Minister was speaking at a public meeting of women at Truck Park at Kukatpalli near here after distributing assets worth Rs 10.2 crores and symbolically launching NSDP works to the tune of Rs. 8.2 crores, both benefiting women, marking the International Women's Day celebrations today. On hand were two women Ministers -- S. Saraswathi (Women Welfare), M. Manikumari (Tribal Welfare), and two top women officials, Minnie Mathews (Principal Secretary for Women Welfare), and Y. Srilakshmi (Director, Municipal Administration), and six other Ministers, one from the Centre, B. Dattatreya, and hundreds of Telugu Desam leaders and workers.

About 35,000 out of 1.25 DWCUA members in 12 municipalities around Hyderabad would begin a new life with these assets.

Mr Naidu called upon women to continue their fight for rights learning the different existing Acts meant for their welfare and go ahead using the tool of self-help. He was all praise for DWCRA women as, according to him, they played a catalytic role in bringing about a change in society, made the mid-day meal scheme a success by providing quality meals at school which was found better than that at houses, and ensuring the loan recovery rate at 99 per cent which prompted banks to come forward and for pushing down the decadal population growth with 10.2 per cent by proper compliance of family planning.

Among the sops announced by him on the occasion were "decision'' enhancing the spending on women out of the local bodies budgets to 15 per cent from 5 per cent as now, "more gas connections'' to DWCUA group members, introduction of e-Seva centres at all the 115 municipalities with a facility to market the products made by these groups and Krishna waters to Hyderabad by March 2004.

Among those who spoke were Mrs Saraswathi, Mr Dattatreya, the Union Minister who promised increased Central funds, the Ministers for Home, Commercial Taxes, Municipal Administration, T. Devender Goud, K. Vijayarama Rao and B. V. Mohan Reddy.

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