(a) whether the Government has taken note of the plight of small children begging on roads/footpaths in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof along with the efforts being made by the Government to improve the standard of living of the said children; and
(c) the details of funds allocated for the Non-Government Organisation working for rehabilitation of destitute women and children during the last five years, State-wise/NGO-wise?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(SRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)
(a) to (c): The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) is the primary law for children in the country. As per Section 2 (14) (ii) of the JJ Act,2015, a child who is found working in contravention of labour laws for the time being in force or is found begging, or living on the street is included as a “child in need of care and protection”, among others. As per Section 76 of JJ Act, whoever employs or uses any child for the purpose of begging or causes any child to beg shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine of one lakh rupees.The Act provides a security net of service delivery structures along with measures for institutional and non-institutional care, to ensure comprehensive well being of children in distress situations. Primary responsibility of execution of the Act rests with the States/UTs.
The Ministry implements a centrally sponsored scheme i.e. Child Protection Services (CPS) under the umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme, for supporting the children in difficult circumstances including child beggars and destitute children. Under the scheme, institutional care is provided through Child Care Institutions (CCIs), as a rehabilitative measure. The programmes and activities in CCIs inter-alia include age-appropriate education, access to vocational training, recreation, health care, counseling etc. The scheme supports 24x7 emergency outreach/ helpline service for children in distress conditions. The service is accessible through a dedicated toll free number, 1098 from any where in India.
The scheme inter-alia provided financial assistance for setting up of CCIs to the States/UTs either by themselves or in association with voluntary organisations. The details of fund released to States/UTs under CPS during last five years are Annexed.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, has undertaken a pilot project for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons engaged in the act of begging in ten (10) cities; namely Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmadabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Lucknow, Patna, Nagpur and Indore with the objective of identification, rehabilitation, counseling, skill development of beggars. It includes education of children engaged in begging/children of persons engaged in the begging.
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Annexure
Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha Un-starred Question No.1974 for answer on 12.02.2021 raised by Shri Jugal Kishore Sharma, Shri Dileshwar Kamait and Smt. Geeta Kora regarding ‘Child Beggars’.
The details of fund released during last five years (i.e. F.Y., 2015-16 to 2019-20) to the States/UTs under CPS
Sl. No. Name of the State/UT 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
1 Andhra Pradesh 238.58 110.74 1469.88 1870.01 1373.53
2 Arunachal Pradesh 571.68 52.29 643.71 37.63 1174.11
3 Assam 597.90 413.64 2932.68 3379.63 3363.95
4 Bihar 2687.89 2787.92 541.56 2621.87 1405.39
5 Chattisgarh 3955.55 527.77 3181.97 2151.01 2098.74
6 Goa 235.25 36.83 728.53 16.03 19.63
7 Gujarat 2328.90 769.95 590.11 2251.55 2146.27
8 Haryana 496.44 0.00 1858.22 1387.60 2217.99
9 Himachal Pradesh 604.04 2345.48 1835.01 1342.64 1607.40
10 Jammu & Kashmir 113.35 43.12 807.48 2106.94 1225.16
11 Jharkhand 369.88 840.11 1714.57 1480.26 1845.80
12 Karnataka 1845.24 3720.80 3272.45 4022.56 3290.45
13 Kerala 944.39 260.50 1849.45 1263.77 1519.74
14 Madhya Pradesh 1116.03 2503.88 3262.77 2959.23 3052.72
15 Maharashtra 3138.75 2272.33 608.15 3156.52 2449.63
16 Manipur 3082.18 241.34 1886.33 3866.99 3102.72
17 Meghalaya 1469.55 2060.33 1846.60 2254.51 2241.71
18 Mizoram 2079.44 1949.55 1917.51 2042.28 2530.43
19 Nagaland 2257.65 1350.37 1457.45 1787.12 2085.95
20 Orissa 3309.07 1089.22 2599.30 4352.44 3541.66
21 Punjab 820.81 581.67 143.24 1244.17 722.00
22 Rajasthan 3258.92 0.00 4752.30 3584.72 3195.88
23 Sikkim 562.00 601.18 662.76 379.25 662.51
24 Tamil Nadu 825.04 13039.37 2013.12 7895.14 14915.36
25 Telangana 354.88 195.64 894.82 1329.23 1726.38
26 Tripura 710.63 676.04 446.81 885.77 879.61
27 Uttar Pradesh 2884.18 3207.19 1830.67 7834.39 4277.72
28 Uttarakhand 66.88 15.54 907.57 1344.40 918.58
29 West Bengal 508.67 6763.87 5073.56 2372.13 2815.10
30 Andaman & Nicobar
Island 36.03 36.88 31.66 218.85 329.62
31 Chandigarh 357.82 245.44 194.32 577.58 0.00
32 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 58.66 177.59 24.82 11.24 193.97
Daman & Diu 82.82 126.42 21.89 18.42 141.79
33 Delhi 1363.40 978.64 354.33 1007.39 972.86
34 Lakshadweep 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
35 Ladakh - - - - -
36 Puducherry 559.60 826.33 114.35 398.43 501.96
Total 43892.10 50847.97 52469.95 73451.70 74546.32