Hostel For Working Women

The Scheme of Hostel for Working Women envisages provision of safe and affordable hostel accommodation to working, single working woman, women working at places away from their home-town and for women being trained for employment.

Since its inception in 1972-73, 891 hostels have been sanctioned under the scheme all over the country benefiting about 66,299 working women.

The scheme has been revised with following salient features:

• Financial assistance for construction of hostel building to be given only on public land
• Financial assistance available for rent of the hostels run in rented premises also
• Provision for maintenance grant of hostel building (maximum Rs 5.00 lakh) and one-time non-recurring grant for furnishings @ Rs 7500/- per beneficiary
• State Government agencies, Urban Municipal Bodies, Cantonment Boards, Civil Society Organizations, Panchayati Raj Institutions, Self Help Groups, Recognized Colleges/Universities and Corporate or associations like CII, ASSOCHAM and FICCI included under the revised scheme

Beneficiaries

• Working women, who may be single, widowed, divorced, separated, married but whose husband or immediate family does not reside in the same city/area
• Particular preference may be given to women from disadvantaged sections of the society
• There should be also provision for reservation of seats for physically challenged beneficiaries
• Women who are under training for job provided the total training period does not exceed one year. This is only on the condition that there is vacancy available after accommodating working women. The number of women under training for job should not exceed 30% of the total capacity
• Girls up to the age of 18 years and boys up to the age of 5 years, accompanying working mothers will be provided accommodation, with their mothers.
• Working mothers may also avail of the services of the Day Care Centre, as provided under the scheme Income Limit, Rent and Period of Stay
• Working Women will be entitled to hostel facilities provided their gross income does not exceed Rs 30,000/- consolidated (gross) per month in metropolitan cities, or Rs 25,000/-consolidated (gross) per month, in any other place
• When the income of any working woman already residing in a hostel exceeds the prescribed limits, she will be required to vacate the hostel within a period of two months of crossing the income ceiling
• The implementing organisation will charge from the inmates of the working women’s hostel reasonable rent not exceeding 15% of their total emoluments/gross salary in the case of single bed rooms, 10% in case of the double bed rooms and 7 ½ % in the case of the dormitories
• Fees charged from the children in the Day Care Centre should not be more than 5% of the emoluments of their mother, or the actual expenditure whichever is less.