The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government announced that it would provide financial aid and ration to the sex workers in Mumbai every month till the coronavirus pandemic is over.
The Indian Express reported that each sex worker would receive ₹5,000 per month along with three kg of wheat and two kg of rice. Additionally, the schoolgoing children of sex workers will be provided with ₹2,500 per month that would help in their online education.
The publication also reported that the state women and child development department identified the beneficiaries and prepared a list of 5,600 sex workers and their 1,592 children in the city. The list has been prepared with the help of the Mumbai District Aids Control Society (MDACS).
The initiative states that the dry ration would be distributed without insisting on the provision of identification proof, however, the government insisted on bank details and Aadhar card number for direct cash transfer.
On September 29, the Supreme Court had directed all the state governments to provide dry ration to sex workers without insisting on proof of identity.
It is important to note that several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working towards the welfare of this community have pointed out that a larger section of sex workers which included some bearing no proof of identity have beenMa missing from the prepared list of beneficiaries.
