The apex body for child rights, NCPCR, is visiting 117 Aspirational Districts to hold public meetings on complaints affecting children pertaining to education, health and nutrition as well as lack of infrastructure.
“The Aspirational District Programme focuses on five main themes to improve socio-economic status which include Health and Nutrition, Education, Agriculture and Water Resources, Financial Inclusion and Skill Development. Of these, three issues come directly under our mandate and account for 70% of the total weightage for ranking districts. So we have been holding our benches where we meet officials from nearly 30 departments as well as local residents,” NCPCR Chairperson Priyanka Kanoongo told The Hindu .
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has so far held 23 benches in 27 districts and has received nearly 5,000 complaints. The districts visited so far include Adilabad (Telangana), Ramanathpuram (Tamil Nadu), Chamba (Himachal Pradesh), and Mewat (Haryana).
The complaints made to the Commission pertain to construction of access roads for schools, providing benefits under the Ayushman Bharat programme for disabled children, provision for toilets, among others. Complainants are supposed to give a written submission, which is then taken up by a bench comprising Members of the NCPCR. The local district officials present include District Commissioner or District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrate , and representatives from Juvenile Justice Board, Child Welfare Committee, Special Juvenile Police Units, Child Welfare Police Officers.
The NCPCR will also set up two cells at its headquarters here to monitor compliance of laws governing child rights for the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh after the dilution of Section 370. Its plan for the two UTs is still in its nacency, but will involve monitoring of issues like adoption, shelter homes, Right to Education.
