Solan administration to hold survey to identify child beggars
The district administration will soon conduct a survey to identify child beggars. Children of migrants are often found begging near construction sites as well as in urban places like Solan, Baddi, Barotiwala and Nalagarh.
The Supreme Court has made mandatory the identification of children residing on streets and uploading of their details on the Bal Swaraj portal set up by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. This has been done to provide assistance under the Mission Vatsalya to these children.
Mandated by SC
- The Supreme Court has made mandatory the identification of children residing on streets and uploading of their details on the Bal Swaraj portal set up by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
- This has been done to provide assistance under the Mission Vatsalya to these children
“Children engaged in street vending, begging near religious places or involved in child labour will be identified with the help of the police and Child Development Project officers in rural areas and the staff of the Women and Child Development Department in urban areas,” said Ajay Yadav, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Solan.
He said that under the Mission Vatsalya, institutional care, non-institutional care, search for missing children, survey of children living on streets, counselling to children in need of care and protection and children in conflict with law, child marriage, child labour, etc, were being undertaken.
Information, Education and Communication (IEC) camps were being organised to create awareness at the community level in educational institutions, gram panchayats and industrial areas about such children.
The details of missing children is also being included in this enumeration. “As per the latest details, it has been found that nine children went missing in Baddi this year. Apart from one child, all others have been traced. In the remaining parts of Solan district, all 11 children, who were reported missing, have been traced,” added Yadav.
Though Special Juvenile Police Units (SJPUs) have been set up under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, to handle cases of children in conflict with law and those needing protection, it has remained a mere paper work, said an official, who had recently conducted an awareness workshop on the subject. “A majority of the police officers are not aware of their role as special juvenile police officers, as it has remained a mere paper formality. They are being sensitised about their role.”
