Now, marriage registration at panchayat and block levels in Odisha

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Nov 1: 

Odisha Government is all set to bring in a new system in place wherein people can avail the services of marriage registration at panchayat and block levels.

A decision on this context was taken in a state level task force meeting on ‘care, protection and development of girl child and women’, chaired by the Chief Secretary Gokul Chandra Pati at the state secretariat yesterday.

Many other woman-friendly decisions were also taken in the meeting including formation of district level taskforces by Women and Child Development Department to investigate atrocities against women.

Based on the ‘Odisha State Policy for Girls and Women-2014’, the taskforces would study the actions taken in previous cases and act accordingly. The state taskforce would visit the districts every month to supervise the work being done there. Besides, it would identify various places that are prone to violence against women and initiate corrective measures such as creating awareness and controlling crime.

Special provisions were considered for Nayagarh district that records a high rate of female foeticide.

“We are soon going to form a special investigative team to contain the crimes against women and girls. We have already received the required approvals for the same. This would accelerate the investigation, judgement and penal provisions in cases of crime against women,” said Special Secretary of Home Department Lalit Das addressing the meeting.

Notably, as per the Odisha State Policy for Girls and Women, 16 primary areas of focus have been identified for development of girl child and women. These works are usually conducted by Departments of Health and family Welfare, Home, Higher Education, Mass Education, Women and Child Development, Law, Revenue and Disaster Management, Labour and Panchayti Raj. A decision was taken to appoint a nodal officer to coordinate between the departments for each of the 16 areas of focus.

The government also decided to start a drive to identify and register all the female construction workers in the state and ensure the benefits of all the welfare schemes reach them. It was also decided to construct dedicated toilets at bus stops, fuel bunks and alongside highways for women.