Gurgaon: Survey on child beggars to help rescue efforts soon

GURGAON: The district administration will carry out a survey of child beggars to analyse their socio-economic conditions that will help them prepare a rescue and rehabilitation plan.
Gurgaon deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav said on Monday that the adults who push children into begging will be taken into custody.
The children who are rescued will be sent to the Child Care Institute (CCI).
“If the parents of the children are found, then they will be given counselling,” Yadav added.
According to Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice Act, penal action can be taken against the parent and caretaker of children who are pushed into begging.
In 2018, the District Legal Service Authority (DLSA) had carried out a similar survey in Gurgaon. It traced around 100-150 children, mostly those who lived in slums or children of migrant labourers, who were found begging on the streets.
At the time, DLSA found that poverty often pushed families to go into begging.
Officials said on Monday that the district administration will launch a campaign with the help of police, district legal service authority and the child welfare committee to rehabilitate these children. For education, the children can be enrolled into schools under Right to Education Act, they said.
Six child welfare institutions are being run in Gurgaon and a government-run institution is under construction. “It is our moral and social responsibility to ensure education to all children,” said Yadav.