A systematic inspection of the details of children in orphanages in the district has not been done for the past four years, it is learnt. The authorities seem to have been content with the functioning of the institutions and had no queries about the admission of children from other States.
Though the mandatory verification is carried out every year as per the guidelines issued by the Social Welfare Department, nothing out of place was reported during these inspections.
There was a perceptible rise in the inflow of children from various States to Kerala, especially to the Malabar region, from 2010. The figures released by the Social Welfare Department in Kozhikode in 2010 showed that 383 children from other States were accommodated in orphanages in Kozhikode. Most were from Bihar and Jharkhand, and they stayed in 12 orphanages in the district.
The Child Welfare Committee (CWC), which was aware of the intake, did not take any legal action against the orphanages which stuck to the conventional rules of admitting children. Many a time, the objections raised by the CWC were challenged in the court, rendering its intervention futile.
No clarityIn fact, there is no clarity on the number of children accommodated in various orphanages. Departments concerned come up with their own reasons for the difficulty in maintaining an accurate record. “Maintaining accurate data of children is difficult as many orphanages do not have a stable strength,” a former official with the Social Welfare Department said. “Some children leave the institution in between and others may join. A constant follow-up is required to ensure transparency in figures,” he added.
As per CWC rules, children illegally accommodated in orphanages have to be sent back to their native States. However, the CWC has no role in the case of children admitted to the orphanages with the written consent of their parents. Few such cases were reported from the district in the past four years.
