Mumbai's BMC Woman Empowerment initiative: 1,000 sq ft market spaces for self-help organisations

Women's self-help groups (SHGs) will be given access to commercial spaces in the marketplaces that the BMC manages where they can sell their handcrafted wares. Devendra Fadnavis, the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, has requested that Iqbal Singh Chahal, the head of the BMC, set aside 1,000 square feet of commercial space in the marketplaces run by the civic organisation for women SHGs as part of a significant push toward women's empowerment under the Mumbai beautification programme Mr. Chahal had mentioned that the BMC would expand six of its market-like malls and addressed the concept of allocating spaces to women SHGs during the launch of the beautifying campaign last month.

 

The move is intended to help these groups' small enterprises grow because the location will allow them to draw more attention to their handmade goods. The government has already received a list of the markets identified for these locations from the BMC's Market Department. There are 92 BMC-managed markets in the city, and they host 1,700 galas in total. The civic organisation has already included the idea of giving women self-help groups access to commercial space in the plans for redeveloping the Gopi Tank, Kranti Singh Nana Patil Market, Mirza Galib, and Lokmanya Tilak markets. Tulsiwadi in the Tardeo division,  Mhapalawadi and Shitala Devi Market in the Mumbai Central division, and Santacruz and Chandivali in North Central Mumbai, among other markets, are listed as some of the marketplaces selected for the plan.