Munmun Kaur-
Published On: December 14, 2021 at 13:30 IST
The Supreme Court gave a direction to all the States to identify and rescue homeless children that were hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier, on November 15, an NGO-Save the Children brought to the notice of the Court that, about 2 Lakh such children spread over ten districts of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Delhi.
The Court observed that enough was not done for these children who number in Lakhs. Also, the States shall not wait for Judicial orders to take them off the streets and rehabilitate them.
A Bench led by Justice L. Nageswara Rao, stated that, the details of such children should be uploaded on the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) portal ‘Bal Swaraj’ which is dedicated to children who are adversely affected by the pandemic and its aftermath.
The order also stated, “The data provided by the State governments in respect of the scheme of rehabilitation for such children has been placed on record. Looking at the number of the ‘children in street situations’ who have been identified, it appears that the process of identification is at a slow pace”
The apex court also made the point that Child Welfare Committees under the Juvenile Justice law was to conduct the process of collecting information of children’s backgrounds and the available benefits under the individual care plan.
Apparently, there are 70,000 such kids roaming the streets of Delhi alone.
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