 bill no xc of 2006 the destitute women and widows welfare bill, 2006 abillto provide for the welfare of the destitute women and widows and for matters connected therewithbe  it enacted by parliament in the fifty-seventh year of the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the destitute women and widows welfare act, 2006short title, extent and commencement(2) it extends to the whole of india (3) it shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notificationin the official gazette, appointdefinitions2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires—(a) "appropriate government" means in case of a state, the state government and in other cases, the central government;(c) "destitute" in relation to a woman and widow means any female who has no independent source of livelihood or is not being looked after by any family member or relative and includes a divorced woman;(d) "widow" means a woman whose husband has expired after legal marriage53 (1) the central government shall by notification in official gazette establish an authority, to be known as "the destitute women and widows welfare authority" to perform functions assigned under this act(2) the composition of the authority shall be such as may be prescribed—establishment of the destitute women and widows welfare authorityprovided that the authority shall not have less than ten members10(3) the central government shall provide to the authority such number of officers and employees on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed(4) the authority may establish as many offices in states and ut as may be necessary for its efficient functioning4  it shall be the function of the authority:—functions of authority15(1) to register names of all destitute women and widows residing in the country, and(2) to formulate plans and schemes for the welfare of the destitute women and widows205 the authority shall provide to every destitute woman or a widow registered under section  4, the following facilities namely:—authority to provide facilities(a) subsistence allowance not exceeding rupees two thousand per month or such financial assistance as may be determined by the subsistence expenditure index whichever is more;(b) free medical assistance;25(c) free residential facilities wherever necessary; (d) free education including technical education to the dependent children ofthe destitute women and widows;(e) gainful employment; (f) vocational training;30(g) free travelling facilities by public transport and also concessions in privatelyowned transport;(h) interest free loans for the purpose of housing and self employment; and (i) such other facilities which are necessary for her proper development and welfare356 the central government shall, from time to time, after due appropriation made by parliament by law in this behalf, provide adequate fund to the authority for carrying out the purpose of this actcentral government to provide funds power to make rules7 the central government may by notification in the official gazette make rules for carrying out the purposes of this act statement of objects and reasonsa very large number of destitute women and widows in our country are leading a miserable life they do not have any means for their own subsistence and for their dependent children they work as maids and perform various domestic chores such as cleaning utensils, washing cloths, dusting, etc for very small wages they can do such a work only when they are physically healthy but many widows are not so fortunate being old, physically weak or having been suffering from serious and chronic diseases they are incapable of doing physical labour in many cases, they are mentally depressed such helpless widows, perforce have to take to begging in streets for their livelihood many young widows are forced into prostitution and many of them have to  opt it as a profession to avoid starvation many widows are forced to leave their families after the death of their husbands and generally they move to other places leaving their family for the sake of peace and relief in many cases, such widows become victims of sexual exploitation at the hands of unscrupulous persons at such places in many cases, widows are deprived of their rights by their in-laws and parents and they have to manage their affairs themselves their condition worsens further when they have to look after their dependent children and when those children are thrown out of the homes with their mother the condition of widows in rural areas is all the more serious they are not only maltreated but are also considered ominous they are also not permitted to take part in the family ceremonies being illiterate they are badly subjected to physical, mental and social exploitationour country is a welfare state and, therefore, it becomes the duty of the state to rehabilitate such hapless widows and to implement welfare schemes for this purpose but even after so many years have passed since independence, a large number of destitute women, widows and  divorcee women still remain deprived of government assistance and facilities most of them are unemployed and they do not get proper food they are suffering from various diseases it is the primary responsibility of the government to ensure that they are provided all such opportunities and facilities so that they may live and grow in a healthy environment and are protected from all kinds of exploitationit is, therefore, necessary to enact a legislation for the welfare and protection of the destitute women and the widowshence this billjai parkash aggarwal financial memorandumclause 3 of the bill provides for the establishment of destitute women and widows welfare authority by the central government clause 4 provides that the destitute women and widows welfare authority shall formulate plans and prepare schemes for the welfare of the destitute women and widows and that they will also register the names of all destitute women and widows clause 5 provides that the central government shall provide to all the destitute women and the widows financial assistance of rupees two thousand  every month, free medical care and such other facilities as are necessary for their proper development and welfare clause 6 of the bill provides for central government to provide adequate funds to the authority for carrying out the purpose of this act the bill, if enacted will therefore involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of the country it is estimated that it will incur a recurring expenditure of rupees 50 crore per annuma non-recurring expenditure to the tune of rupees ten crore may also be involved in it memorandum  regarding  delegated  legislationclause 7 of the bill gives power to the central government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of this bill since the rules will relate to matters of details only, the delegation of legislative power is of normal character———— a bill to provide for the welfare of the destitute women and widows and for matters connected therewith————(shri jai parkash aggarwal, mp)