DCW engages TISS to conduct social audit of shelter homes in city

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 6

Following a direction by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to conduct a social audit of shelter homes in the capital, the Delhi Commission for Women has engaged an external expert agency, "Koshish", which is a field action project of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, to conduct the exercise.

An agreement was signed between the DCW and Koshish in November and the Koshish team led by project director and assistant professor Mohd Tarique has initiated the social auditing of shelter homes in Delhi.

The team has started visiting all government and private shelter homes and auditing the same on various aspects which shall include the infrastructure, facilities provided, and rehabilitation and restoration efforts amongst others, the commission said in a statement.

Koshish has earlier successfully conducted similar audit in other states, especially in Bihar where it was responsible for exposing the Muzaffarpur shelter home case.

The development assumes significance as Sisodia suspended two senior officials of the Women and Child Development Department earlier this week after inmates of Sanskar Ashram for Girls, a shelter home in Dilshad Garden, gone missing.

In a meeting with Maliwal and WCD secretary Rashmi Krishnan, Sisodia assured that no issue shall be left unaddressed and the problems will be rectified on a mission mode, the statement said.

Maliwal said that a pilot social audit of shelter homes was initiated by the commission in September and a report is being submitted to the government.

"Children and women residing in our institutions are our responsibility and we must do all in our capacity to ensure safe and healthy spaces for their growth and rehabilitation," Mohd Tarique, director, Koshish, said.