Parliament Question: Women’s Welfare and Protection in Coal Mining affected Areas

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2452 TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.02.2026 WOMEN'S WELFARE AND PROTECTION IN COAL MINING AFFECTED AREAS 2452. SMT. SANGEETA KUMARI SINGH DEO: Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state: (a) whether the Ministry has assessed the gender-specific social, economic and health impacts of coal mining-related displacement in Sundargarh district of Odisha, particularly on women affected by operations of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, if so, the details thereof; (b) whether any data is available on incidences of domestic violence, loss of livelihoods, mental health concerns and access to nutrition and childcare services among women in mining affected and resettled communities, if so, the details thereof; (c) whether women from displaced households are being covered under PMMVY, Mission Shakti, Saksham Anganwadi and One Stop Centres, if so, the details of coverage in Sundargarh district thereof; and (d) whether the Ministry has coordinated with coal PSUs and concerned Ministries to ensure gender-sensitive rehabilitation, livelihood support and protection mechanisms for women in coal mining regions, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR) (a) to (d): Mahanadi Coalfields Limited has provided land compensation in project affected villages in Sundargarh district of Odisha as per provision of CBA (A&D) act 1957 and R& R benefits as per Orissa Resettlement and Rehabilitation policy 2006. The resettlement of project affected villages are done at a site away from the vicinity of active mining operations with consent of the project affected persons as well as the host community. All amenities as provisioned in statue/ policy are provided in the resettlement site. Further, “Police‟ and “Public Order‟ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibility to maintain law and order, protection of life and property of the citizens including investigation and prosecution in crimes against women and children rests with the respective State Governments and they are competent to deal with it. Section 8 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA), 2005 mandates the States/ UTs to appoint such number of Protection Officers in each district as it may consider necessary and also to notify the area or areas within which a Protection Officer shall exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred. It is the duty of the Protection Officer to reportthe cases of domestic violence to the Magistrate upon receipt of complaints and to assist the Magistrate in the discharge of his functions. However, conviction of an accused person is done by the competent court after careful consideration of factual positions, evidence and all related legal aspects as per the provisions of law. The PWDVA provides to women remedies such as protection order, residence order, custody order, monetary relief, compensation order etc. under it. Nevertheless, the Central Government gives highest priority to ensuring safety and security of women and has undertaken various legislative and schematic interventions in this regard. These include legislations such as “Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita”, “Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita”, “The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2006‟, The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act 2013, Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. In order to encourage employment of women, the aforementioned four Labour Codes have been implemented with effect from 21st November 2025, rationalizing 29 erstwhile labour laws. As part of the reforms, the codes prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender, mandate equal pay, and open doors for women to work across all sectors of economy at all times, including underground mining and heavy machinery duties & night shifts; subject to their consent and adequate safety measures by employers. Besides these legal provisions, there are a number of schemes/ initiatives implemented by various Ministries/ Departments of the Central Government across the country for social and economic empowerment of women, which also includes women working in mining industry, subject to meeting the eligibility conditions prescribed under such schemes/ initiatives. Some of the major schemes/ programmes in this regard are as follows:- i. The Ministry of Women and Child Development during the 15th Finance Commission period with effect from the financial year 2022-23, implements Centrally Sponsored, Mission Shakti Umbrella Scheme for safety, security and empowerment of women. Mission Shakti has two sub-schemes -‘Sambal’ and ‘Samarthya’. ii. The “Sambal” sub-scheme is for safety and security of women. It has the components of One Stop Centres (OSCs), Women Helpline (WHL), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) and a new component of Nari Adalat. One Stop Centre (OSC) scheme, which is fully funded by the central government is being implemented across the country since 1st April, 2015. It provides integrated support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence and those in distress, both in private and public spaces. It also provides an integrated range of services including medical aid, legal aid and advice, temporary shelter, police assistance, psycho-social counselling to needy women. 896 OSCs are operational across the country (including 34 OSCs in Odissa) and since inception over 12.88 lakh women have been assisted (including 41,627 number of women assisted in Odissa) upto 31th October, 2025. iii. Further, 24×7×365 toll-free Women Helpline (WHL-181) has been universalised. It provides emergency and non-emergency services to any women in need by connecting them with appropriate authorities. As of December 31, 2025, a total of 96.37 lakh (including 71,174 number of women assisted in Odissa) women have been assisted across the country. Besides, Emergency Response Support System (ERSS), which is apan-India single number (112)/ mobile app based system for emergencies is also available to women in distress. Now, Women Help Line (WHL) is integrated with ERSS for providing 24×7 emergency and non-emergency help and support to needy women. In addition, under Nirbhaya Fund, the Central Government has provided financial assistance to States/ UTs for setting up/ strengthening Women Help Desks (WHDs) in all police stations. So far, 14658 Women Help Desks have been established in police stations. iv. The “Samarthya” sub scheme is for empowerment of women. It has the components of Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Shakti Sadan, Sakhi Niwas, Palna and a new component of Gap Funding for Economic Empowerment i.e. SANKALP : Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW) to facilitate inter-sectoral convergence of schemes and programs meant for women at the Central, State/ UT and District levels for creating an environment in which women are able to realize their full potential. The support under the HEW provides for guiding, linking and hand holding women to various institutional and schematic set ups for their empowerment and development including access to healthcare, quality education, career and vocational counselling/ training, financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, backward and forward linkages, health and safety for workers, social security and digital literacy. v. Under Mission Shakti Scheme, component of Shakti Sadan provides necessary assistance including shelter, food, vocational training for destitute women and women in difficult circumstances. Presently, 413 Shakti Sadans are functional across the country. Out of these, 68 Shakti Sadans are functional in the State of Odisha including 02 Shakti Sadans in the Sundargarh district of Odisha. vi. Under Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), cash benefit of Rs. 5000/- for first child and Rs. 6000/- for second child, if it is a girl child, are provided in direct benefit transfer mode. vii. The Ministry of Women and Child Development also implements the scheme of Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0. It is a universal scheme, under which free services for nutrition and early childhood care and education for children upto six years and pregnant women and lactating mothers are provided. viii. National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), Atal Pension Yojana (APY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) have been implemented to provide social protection through insurance coverage and pension. ix. In order to reduce drudgery and enhance the ease of living for the women particularly in the rural areas, under the Swacch Bharat Mission more than 11.6 crore toilets have been constructed, 10.3 crore households have been provided Clean cooking fuel through Ujjawala Yojana and safe and potable tap water connection to nearly 15 crore households through Jal Jeevan Mission. x. Prime Minister Awaas Yojana Gramin (PMAY-G) and Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana Urban (PMAY-U) aim to provide ‘Housing for All’ through provision of pucca house with basic amenities to all houseless families and households living in kutcha and dilapidated house in rural areas and the housing requirement of Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) including slum dwellers in the urban areas.xi. Under Ayushman Bharat, the Government is providing free of cost treatment through over 1200 medical packages to over 55 crore citizens. Out of these, over 141 medical packages are exclusively designed for addressing medical needs of women. Seven types of screening (TB, Hypertension, Diabetes, Oral Cancer, Breast Cancer, Cervical Cancer and Cataract) are provided under the scheme, which have benefitted crores of women including female sex workers. There are nearly 1.8 lakh Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs), also referred to as Ayushman Arogya Mandir, in both urban and rural areas, bring health care closer to the community. Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PMJAY) is the world’s largest public funded health assurance scheme, with special focus on poor and disadvantaged women. xii. There are over 16,000 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJK) functional across the country. The PMBJK besides providing affordable medicines and medical devices, including about 40 women specific items also have provision for sale of Sanitary Napkins named ‘Suvidha Sanitary Napkins’ at extremely affordable price of Rupee 1 per pad. xiii. The Central Government had released foodgrains to about 79 crore beneficiaries to Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households and Priority Household (PHH) beneficiaries, as per their entitlement, under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). Government has decided to continue providing free food grains for the next five years from 2024. xiv. Under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PMKVY) and Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme, skill development and vocational training is provided to women. xv. Women are also the largest beneficiaries under Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojna (PM- JDY) one of the largest financial inclusion initiatives in the world which also provides access to direct benefits under various welfare schemes, credit and insurance services. xvi. Schemes such as MUDRA Yojna, Stand-Up India, Start-up India, Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi), Pradhan Mantri Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) provide employment/ self-employment and credit facilities. Majority of the beneficiaries under these schemes are women. ******