Lucknow: Under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, hostels are being constructed in Uttar Pradesh under the Chief Minister Working Women's Hostel Scheme ( Shramjeevi Mahila Chhatravas), named after Mata Ahilyabai Holkar, who is considered symbol of women's empowerment and social welfare, to provide safe and convenient accommodation for working women.
Through the Central Government's Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment Scheme (SASCI) and the state government's Chief Minister Working Women's Hostel Scheme, working women's hostels are being constructed on a large scale in major urban areas of the state.
Construction work under both these schemes is progressing rapidly on the instructions of the Chief Minister.
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The Government of India has allocated Rs. 382 crore for Uttar Pradesh under the SASCI scheme. Under this scheme, a total of 8 working women's hostels are proposed, including 3 in Lucknow, 4 in Gautam Buddha Nagar, and 1 in Ghaziabad, each with a residential capacity of 500.
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Land has been identified in urban areas for these hostels and transferred to the department at a lease rate of Re. 1 per square meter per year. Against the sanctioned amount of Rs. 381.56 crore by the Central Government under the scheme, 66 percent, amounting to Rs. 251.83 crore, was released as the first instalment on March 11, 2025.
In April 2025, C&DS, Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (Urban) was appointed as the implementing agency. Subsequently, in June 2025, the Department of Women and Child Development released 35% of the project-wise funds (Rs. 116.19 crore) to the implementing agency. Currently, construction work has commenced on 3 hostels in Lucknow and 3 in Gautam Buddha Nagar.
Under leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the state government has proposed the construction of 7 hostels with a capacity of 500 beds each in seven districts of the state – Varanasi, Meerut, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Kanpur Nagar, Jhansi, and Agra – under the Chief Minister's Working Women's Hostel Scheme.
A total provision of Rs. 334.25 crore has been made for this scheme, at a cost of Rs. 47.75 crore per hostel, of which a budgetary provision of Rs. 170 crore has been made in the current financial year 2025-26.
Land transfer procedures have been completed in Meerut, Gorakhpur, Kanpur Nagar, Jhansi, and Agra. Approval from the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) has been obtained for these five districts.
The land transfer process is in its final stages in Varanasi and Prayagraj. Detailed work plans for construction in all seven districts have been sent to the Finance Department.
These two schemes, being implemented in coordination with the Department of Women and Child Development and C&DS, are realizing Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's vision, which places women's safety, dignity, and self-reliance at the centre of development.
These hostels will not only provide safe accommodation to working women but will also strengthen the participation of women in the workforce in urban areas.