TOI - There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children, said Nelson Mandela.
CHANGEindia
Citing reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and data from the social welfare department, the PIL by A Narayanan, director of NGO ChangeIndia, said 27 government orphanages and 174 private destitute homes in the state are not registered under the Juvenile Justice Act. Similarly, though 2,054 homes had been identified by the government, only 1,527 were brought under the purview of the social welfare department. "It is silent on who is responsible for the remaining homes," he said.
In the absence of manage ment committees, it will be impossible to protect institutionalised children and take measures for their rehabilitation, he said. "It amounts to failure of the government to uphold constitutional provisions for the rights of children," he said. Seeking to either bring all children's homes under the government's purview or close them down, the PIL sought a direction to the government to implement the JJ Act to regulate all such institutions.
More than 830 NGOs have been given `conditional registration' to run homes for children, though there is no rule permitting such temporary registrations, he said. "It is unthinkable how, without mini mum standards, scores of children can be holed up in unliveable confines of such homes for six or more months," the petition said.
Narayanan also cited regular incidents of neglect, physical violence, torture sexual abuse and suicide in childcare homes, and added that a recent incident of rape at a home for girls in Pollachi was not an isolated case. He said most of the 33 `Karunai Illangal' run by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department are functioning out of dilapidated buildings, where standards of care, food and nutrition are far from satisfactory.
The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M Sathyanarayanan on Friday issued notices to state and central authorities, and suo motu impleaded the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights as a party to the case.
Jaya.Menon |
SQUALOR IN KILPAUK HOME REFLECTS MALAISE IN CHILDCARE
The government home for girls in need of care and protection at Kellys, Kilpauk, in Chennai is a depressing sprawl. Structures on the vast premises are crumbling and the unpainted walls reveal neglect.
The four dormitories in a separate two-storey block are fairly clean, but step into the toilets and they are a shocking sight. Submerged in water, filth floating on the surface, the toilets on the ground floor and first floor are cesspools of disease. “The girls defecate in the open,“ admitted warden D Ragini, who has been working here for the last six years. She said she had been complaining to officials to have them cleaned.
Dirt stains showed clearly on 10-year-old Sugunamma's (name changed) beige blouse and long maroon skirt, her uniform in the school.Bending to scratch the sores on her feet, she said, “I have only one uniform.“ Warden Ragini shouted her down: `No, no, two pairs'.
Located at the far end is a huge, dirty kitchen, strewn with rusty utensils and cooking gadgets. Close to the kitchen building is an appalling pool of sewage, from a broken pipe. An inspection team would undoubtedly recommend the closure of this home.
There is also the question of safety of the girls. This correspondent walked right into the home as there were no security personnel at the main gate to screen visitors. Department of social defence director C T Manimekalai, who took charge of the department in May, said, “We will set things right as soon as possible and get back to you.” After a man being chased by police entered a private children’s home in Pollachi and raped two minor girls at knifepoint, the government in a kneejerk reaction ordered inspection and raids of homes across the state. It passed laws to tighten security and improve facilities in private homes but it failed to check its own institutions.
As teams of child welfare committees fan out across the state, raiding private child care homes, inspecting conditions and ordering their closure, homes in the government’s backyard violate almost every rule laid down by the Juvenile Justice Act, 2010. “It is strange that this home [in Kellys] has never been inspected, that too when the child welfare committee is functioning on its premises,” said Kancheepuram Child Welfare Committee member I Zaheeruddin Mohamed. Lack of transparency and strict norms deny activists or media access to government homes and ensure they remain in a state of despair.
“It’s not just child care homes run by NGOs, but government children’s homes too lack infrastructure, qualified manpower, medical care, counselling and rehabilitation measures. While the JJ Act mandates inspections every three months, they are never carried out,” said child rights activist A Narayanan.
A few years ago, some talented girls from the Kellys home were taken to the US consulate where they brightened the outer walls with sketches. An officer said the girls, awestruck by vehicles and buildings, had confided that they had never stepped out of the home for years until then.
Divya Chandrababu |
It was not shut down but the younger children were rescued.The home is now in the process of converting itself into a paid hostel, which would not bring it under the purview of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2010 anymore.This is just one of the many heartwrenching stories of neglect and abuse in the 2,000-odd childcare homes that have mushroomed across the state in recent years.
More than 4 lakh children are institutionalized in Tamil Nadu, more than in any other state. This estimate, provided by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights for Tamil Nadu last year, is astronomical compared to the numbers in Bihar (1,000) or Delhi (2,500), according to data provided by the states in response to an RTI petition.Tamil Nadu refused to provide information on a similar RTI petition. Exploiting poverty and realising that childcare can be a lucrative business bringing in huge donations from foreign countries, NGOs have mushroomed in the state over the past few decades -all looking for a share of the pie.
A large number of these NGOs are registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, and many others are not, yet receive large sums from foreign donors. Childcare homes are run both by NGOs and the government through various departments, including social welfare and social defence. There are many tales of neglect and abuse in the children’s homes across the state. NGOs as well look to profit from the system and their donations. Private homes for most part function like a welloiled machine, aided by a corrupt system, officials, voluntary organisations, religious institutions and child traffickers. While children are sourced from impoverished homes in villages, city slums and even other states, there is also a growing number of poor rural families, keen to see their children brought up in such institutions in the hope they would get a good education.
“Tamil Nadu always had a large number of NGOs. It’s likely that many child care institutions are unregistered,” said Suma Ravi, regional director, Child Rights and You, South. “Parents from vulnerable communities are lured into sending their children to these homes with the promise of a better future. They do not have the wherewithal to verify their genuineness,” she said. Child protection never received attention, in policymaking or budgets. “There is no action if the institution is unregistered.
Some states even prohibit surprise inspections,” Ravi said.
These NGOs’ trump card is to display a large number of children who appear impoverished and undernourished — that keeps the FUNDS
flowing in.
The Union home ministry in March said less than 2% of the NGOs in the country are registered with the government to receive foreign contributions.
“More than 90% of children have either one or both parents. They are admitted to these institutions due to poverty,” said child rights activist A Narayanan. “The Integrated Child Protection Scheme advocates non-institutionalised care and protection such as sponsorship and foster care. With facilities and assistance like the RTE Act, there is no need for such large-scale institutionalisation of children,” he said. Government officials declined to comment on the issue.
