Nari Niketan, Chandigarh

What is Nari Niketan, Chandigarh?

Nari Niketan is the residential shelter home for women that the Department of Social Welfare, Women and Child Development, Chandigarh Administration runs directly. The department's own description of itself is unambiguous on this point: it states that it is "managing one Nari Niketan, and many other institutions which are being run or managed through various Non-Government agencies". Nari Niketan is therefore not an NGO project in Chandigarh, it is a government-run home, and the Director Social Welfare is accountable for it.

The Nari Niketan building is in Sector 26, Chandigarh. The same premises house two other institutions that appear separately in the Chandigarh Child and Women Development Corporation's staff list, the After Care Home for Girls under a Superintendent reachable on 0172-2750003, and an Observation-cum- Special Home for the reception of girls in conflict with the law. The One Stop Centre for Chandigarh is also located in Sector 26 and can be reached on 0172-2793026. Readers who search for the home by its transliterated name, "Nari Niketan Chandigarh", or as a "women's shelter home Sector 26", are looking at the same institution.

Nari Niketan sits inside a wider national framework. Under Mission Shakti, the erstwhile Swadhar Greh scheme for women in difficult circumstances and the Ujjawala scheme for prevention of trafficking were merged into a single component called Shakti Sadan; Integrated Relief and Rehabilitation Home, under the Samarthya sub-scheme. Chandigarh already ran a Shelter Home for Women in Difficult Circumstances at Sector 43 under Swadhar, and the Shakti Sadan norms are the current standard against which a home such as Nari Niketan operates.

Who is eligible to stay at Nari Niketan, Chandigarh?

A woman can be admitted if she is:

• Destitute — without family support, income or a place to live.
• In distress, including women facing domestic violence, desertion or destitution after widowhood, and women rescued from exploitation.
• A victim of trafficking, rescued by the police, an Anti-Human Trafficking Unit or on the orders of a designated magistrate or SDM.
• Marginalised and in need of relief and rehabilitation, in the words of the Mission Shakti guidelines.
• A girl below 18 years in need of care and protection, in which case admission is ordered by the Child Welfare Committee under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Children of a resident. Unmarried girls of any age and boys up to 12 years may stay in the home with their mothers.

You cannot apply if:

• You are a man, or a boy above 12 years. Boys over 12 who accompany their mother are shifted to Children Homes run under the Juvenile Justice Act and the child protection scheme.
• You want a cash grant only. Nari Niketan is a shelter and rehabilitation service, not a pension. A woman needing monthly money should look at the Chandigarh scheme of Pension to Widows and Destitute Women, which pays Rs 1,000 per month.
• You need only a few days of protection after a domestic violence incident. Such cases are handled first by the One Stop Centre, where a woman can stay up to five days; long-term shelter at Nari Niketan follows only on referral.
• You are not in Chandigarh. A woman found in Chandigarh but belonging to another state is helped, but her long-term restoration is arranged with her home state.

What does a resident of Nari Niketan get?

Under the Shakti Sadan norms that govern such homes, residents are provided:

• Shelter, food, clothing, primary health facilities and other essential daily need items.
• Rs 500 per month per resident, deposited into a bank account opened in the resident's own name. The money cannot be withdrawn during her stay. It accumulates with interest and is released as seed money to begin her life or career afresh when she leaves. If the resident wishes, the premium for Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana or Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana can be paid out of this amount.
• Vocational training, arranged in convergence with the relevant departments. In Chandigarh the Child and Women Development Corporation runs vocational training courses for women from economically weaker sections and a Matoo Empowerment Centre in Sector 46 (0172-2678018).
• Social security benefits, including medical benefit under Ayushman Bharat or a similar scheme and disability pension where applicable.
• Psycho-social counselling and legal aid, drawn from a common pool of persons under the overall charge of the One Stop Centre.

For reintegration, the framework also provides for a half-way home where a group of women ready for reintegration live and work semi-independently, restoration to families including travel and food costs for the woman and one escort, and, in trafficking cases, cross-border repatriation formalities and travel to the country of origin.

How to apply for admission to Nari Niketan, Chandigarh

1. Call the Women and Child Helpline on 181, or 9915023456. This is the fastest route at any hour. The Women and Child Helpline and Protection Centre at Sector 19, Chandigarh works on 0172-2700099, and a separate Women Helpline operates from Sector 17 on 0172-2700027.
2. Or reach the One Stop Centre, Sector 26, Chandigarh on 0172-2793026. The OSC gives immediate shelter for up to five days and makes the referral for longer-term shelter.
3. Or approach the police or an Anti-Human Trafficking Unit if you have been rescued from exploitation. The homes and the One Stop Centre work in close coordination with AHTUs and Women Help Desks in police stations, and they apply to the designated magistrate or SDM for rescue orders.
4. For a girl below 18 years, the case goes to the Child Welfare Committee. Admission of a minor is made on CWC orders under the Juvenile Justice Act,
5. The District Child Protection Unit at the first floor of the Snehalaya Building, Maloya, phone 0172-2643654, handles this.
6. At admission, expect an intake interview, a primary health screening and the opening of a bank account in your own name. Ask for the Rs 500 monthly deposit to be started and for a counselling appointment to be fixed.
7. Write to the department at Additional Town Hall Building, 3rd Floor, Sector 17-C, Chandigarh 160017 if you are making a planned, non-emergency request for shelter for yourself or a relative.

No fee is payable at any stage, and no agent is needed. Anyone demanding money to arrange a bed at Nari Niketan should be reported to the Director Social Welfare on 0172-2700372.

How long can a resident stay, and what happens after?

• Up to 3 years is the normal maximum stay under the Shakti Sadan norms.
• Beyond 3 years, an extension can be granted on a need basis by the District Magistrate.
• Women above 55 years can be accommodated for a maximum of 5 years, after which they are shifted to old age homes or similar institutions. In Chandigarh the relevant facilities are the Senior Citizens' Home, Sector 43 managed by the Chandigarh Child and Women Development Corporation (0172-2676117) and the Home for Old and Destitute People, Sector 15 managed by the Chandigarh Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes and Minorities Finance and Development Corporation.

Common reasons a request for shelter is refused, and what to do

• The person is a boy above 12 years. He is placed instead in a Children Home under the Juvenile Justice Act; ask the District Child Protection Unit to arrange it so that the family is not separated without a plan.
• No CWC order for a minor girl. A girl under 18 cannot simply be dropped at a home. Take the case to the Child Welfare Committee through the District Child Protection Unit on 0172-2643654.
• The case is short-term. If the need is for a few days of safety, the One Stop Centre is the correct door, not the shelter home.
• Capacity is full. Homes are sanctioned for a fixed number of residents, and the Mission Shakti costing tables are built around a home for 50 residents. Ask the helpline to place you at another institution rather than leaving without a referral.

Related institutions for women in Chandigarh

Help and grievance redressal

• Women and Child Helpline, Chandigarh: 181, mobile 9915023456, Sector 19-B, Chandigarh.
• Director Social Welfare: 0172-2700372, Additional Town Hall Building, 3rd Floor, Sector 17-C, Chandigarh 160017, email dirswd-chd[at]nic[dot]in.
• Sexual harassment at the workplace, including for staff and visitors, is handled by the department's Internal Complaints Committee, and complaints can be filed online at the SHe-Box portal.
• Grievances can also be lodged through the Lodge Your Grievances link on the Chandigarh Administration portal, or by filing an RTI application with the department.