In 2004, the state government appointed a study committee to take stock of the Devdasi system in Maharashtra. Based on the committee's recommendations, the Maharashtra government recently passed the Anti-Devdasi Bill to "provide for a comprehensive law to abolish the practice of dedication of women as Devdasis to Hindu deities, idols, objects of worship, temples for religious institutions and to protect the women so dedicated against exploitation". The Bill will abolish the Devdasi system; penalize perpetrators of the crime with a fine of Rs 10,000-50,000; and rehabilitate Devdasis through alternate employment and homes. There is also a provision for the formation of district-level and state-level Devdasi control groups, consisting of persons from civil society organizations. These groups will have the power to make recommendations to the government towards abolishing the Devdasi system.
