(a) whether the Government has data related to destitute and street children of the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof, state/UT-wise including West Bengal;
(c) whether the Government is implementing any scheme for caring and protection of such children and if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the other steps being taken by the Government for caring, protection and to reduce migration of destitute and street children during the COVID-19 pandemic and thereafter?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)
(a) & (b) : As informed by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), an online portal Baal Swaraj has been devised to do real time monitoring of children living in street situations - Baal Swaraj Portal-CISS. All the States/UTs have been directed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in SMWP(C) No.6 of 2021 In Re. Children in Street Situations to upload the data of children who have been identified to be in street situations. The State/UT-wise details of Children in Street Situations including the State of West Bengal uploaded on Baal Swaraj-Portal-CISS, as on 15.02.2022, is given at Annexure-I.
(c) : The Ministry is implementing a centrally sponsored scheme namely Child Protection Services (CPS) Scheme – Mission Vatsalya under which support is provided to States and UT Governments for delivering services for children in need of care and in difficult circumstances including rehabilitation of children living on the streets. The Child Care Institutions (CCIs) established under the scheme support inter-alia age-appropriate education, access to vocational training, recreation, health care, etc.
(d) : The Ministry issued advisories and guidelines for encouraging COVID appropriate behaviour, monitoring of Child Care Institutions and coping strategies during COVID times for mental health support to children and care givers. A responsibility matrix defining role of primary duty holders at all levels from State to Panchayati Raj Institutions was also shared with States/UTs.
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ANNEXURE - I
ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) & (B) TO THE LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO.3907 FOR ANSWER ON 25.03.2022 ASKED BY SHRI JYOTIRMAY SINGH MAHATO, SHRI DILESHWAR KAMAIT, SHRIMATI GEETA KORA, SHRI PALLAB LOCHAN DAS, SHRI JUGAL KISHORE SHARMA, SHRI MITESH RAMESHBHAI PATEL (BAKABHAI) AND SHRIMATI SHARDABEN ANILBHAI PATEL REGARDING STREET CHILDREN
THE STATE/UT-WISE DETAILS OF CHILDREN IN STREET SITUATIONS INCLUDING THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL UPLOADED ON BAAL SWARAJ-PORTAL- CISS (AS ON 15.02.2022)
Sl. No. State/UT Children living on the streets with their families Children stay on the streets in the day and are back home in the night with their families who reside in a nearby slum/ hutments Children without support living on the streets all alone Total
1 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 0 0 0 0
2 Andhra Pradesh 490 235 13 738
3 Arunachal Pradesh 0 0 0 0
4 Assam 48 151 31 230
5 Bihar 88 57 12 157
6 Chandigarh 39 8 3 50
7 Chhattisgarh 26 91 13 130
8 Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu 11 0 0 11
9 Delhi 494 1100 59 1653
10 Goa 13 27 0 40
11 Gujarat 1086 895 9 1990
12 Haryana 282 233 22 537
13 Himachal Pradesh 15 50 0 65
14 Jammu and Kashmir 33 210 1 244
15 Jharkhand 19 10 11 40
16 Karnataka 466 635 105 1206
17 Kerala 27 5 2 34
18 Ladakh 3 30 0 33
19 Lakshadweep 0 0 0 0
20 Madhya Pradesh 640 807 45 1492
21 Maharashtra 3719 1195 38 4952
22 Manipur 0 0 0 0
23 Meghalaya 0 5 0 5
24 Mizoram 0 0 0 0
25 Nagaland 0 1 0 1
26 Odisha 38 5 37 80
27 Puducherry 9 18 0 27
28 Punjab 31 108 18 157
29 Rajasthan 282 110 4 396
30 Sikkim 0 0 0 0
31 Tamil Nadu 1068 515 120 1703
32 Telangana 113 690 6 809
33 Tripura 0 2 14 16
34 Uttar Pradesh 471 214 270 955
35 Uttrakhand 19 21 1 41
36 West Bengal 0 122 0 122
Total 9530 7550 834 17914
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