Though the three-year tenure of Child Welfare Committees (CWC) functioning in all the 32 districts of Tamil Nadu came to an end in June 2015, the Department of Social Defence (DSD), coming under the Ministry of Social Welfare, is yet to form new committees.
The CWCs in the districts are, instead, being provided an extension every few months which, according to activists, is against the provisions of The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act).
A. Narayanan, director of CHANGEindia, who had filed multiple litigations demanding proper implementation of the Act, said the provisions of the Act did not allow any person to be appointed to the CWC for more than three years.
“Providing extensions to CWC members beyond three years violates this provision,” he said. A senior official of social defence department in Madurai said even these extensions were provided generally after a delay of a few weeks.
“For instance, the last extension provided to Madurai CWC ended on June 10. Though it is yet to be provided an extension, the committee continues to hear cases, which is legally untenable,” he said.
Highlighting the crucial role played by the CWCs in rescue and rehabilitation of children as per the JJ Act, the official said, “Be it abandoned children or children rescued from abuse, they are all taken to the CWC first. Apart from several other tasks, the CWC, which is even accorded some judicial powers, plays a role in monitoring children’s homes.”
According to the Act, the CWC comprises a chairperson and four other members. The official, however, said in some districts like Theni, the committee was functioning with just the chairperson or a couple of members.
Mr. Narayanan pointed out that the situation was similar in the case of Juvenile Justice Boards (JJB) in the districts, which handled children in conflict with law, and District Child Protection Units (DCPU), the nodal unit to ensure implementation of the JJ Act.
“While the tenure of social workers in the JJBs ended two years ago and new appointments had not been made, the DCPU, headed by District Child Protection Officers, are engaged on a six-month contractual basis, which is in violation of the Act and the guidelines of Integrated Child Protection Scheme,” he said.
“The State government had not even bothered to frame rules for the JJ Act, which is a fundamental thing to do,” he said.
Social Welfare Minister Dr. V. Saroja could not be reached.
