Expressing concern over an estimated 15 to 20 lakh children living on the streets in India, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights Chairman Priyank Kanungo said that due to the indifferent attitude of some state governments, they are finding it difficult to identify and rehabilitate them. Despite this, about twenty thousand such children have been identified and rehabilitated through the web portal.
new Delhi: Around 20,000 street children have been identified across India and the process of their rehabilitation is underway. This information was given by Priyank Kanungo, Chairman, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
On the condition of homeless children living on the streets in India, Kanungo said that a web portal ‘Bal Swarajya’ has been created for the children living on the streets where their information can be uploaded and tracked and for their rehabilitation. Work can be done.
He said that so far about 20 thousand such children have been identified who are in the process of being rehabilitated.
The senior official, however, expressed regret that the states were not doing the work of rehabilitating and identifying such children effectively.
Expressing concern over an estimated 15 to 20 lakh children living on the streets in India, NCPCR chairman Priyank Kanungo said due to the apathetic attitude of some state governments, they are finding it difficult to identify and rehabilitate them.
He said that despite this, about 20 thousand such children were identified through the web portal and they are being rehabilitated.
Kanungo said, “The states are not working as effectively as they should. We want to work as soon as possible. States should be pressurized to do this work immediately. Madhya Pradesh and in some areas West Bengal has done a good job for their rehabilitation, but Delhi and Maharashtra are doing nothing.
He said that due to the inaction of the Delhi government, only 1,800 children have been brought in the process of rehabilitation, whereas two years ago we were told that there are about 73,000 children living on the streets of Delhi.
Kanungo estimates that at present 15 to 20 lakh children are living on the streets in India.
He said, ‘There are three types of homeless children living on the street. Earlier those who have come running away from their homes or the family has left them and they are living alone. The second category is of those children who are living with their families on the street and their families are living on the streets while the third category is of those children who live in the nearby slums and spend the day on the road and go to their homes at night. Huh.’
He told that NCPCR has made a plan for the rehabilitation of all the three categories of children.
“The rehabilitation of these categories of children is of different types. For example, children who live alone are placed in children’s homes, those who live in slums with their families are resettled by linking them to welfare schemes with their families. At the same time, the children who live on the road with their families and most of them have come from villages to cities for better opportunities, we try to send them back by connecting them to welfare schemes to live in their villages.
Kanungo said the apex body of child rights has drawn up a six-tier rehabilitation plan.
He said, “First is to present the child before the Rescue and Child Welfare Committee (CWC), prepare the social check report of the child, third person care plan, then the committee recommends the rehabilitation where the child will go, Connecting the fifth child to the welfare scheme and keeping an eye on the sixth child.
Kanungo informed that the matter of identification and rehabilitation of street children is going on in the Supreme Court and in the last hearing, the court had directed the states and union territories to implement the suggestions of rehabilitation policy and said that It should not be only on paper.
Justice L. Nageswara Rao and Justice BR Gavai had said that so far only 17,914 children living on the street have been made available, while their estimated number is 15-20 lakh.
The next hearing of the matter is to be held on Monday.
(with input from news agency language)
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