Haryana govt to bear 90 per cent cost of street child project

Chandigarh, Nov 4 (UNI) The Haryana Government has decided to provide 90 per cent of the project cost of those voluntary organisations which would undertake projects for the welfare of street children.

The remaining 10 per cent of the project cost would be borne by the NGO concerned.

While stating this today, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, Mrs Kartar Devi said that the Government had framed rules for the implementation of this scheme.

She said that these rules aimed at providing grant-in-aid to voluntary organisations so as to enable them render integrated community based noninstitutional basic services for the care, protection and development of street children facing destitution, neglect, abuse and exploitation. Programme interventions would be focused on reduction of exploitation and abuse and withdrawal of children engaged in hazardous work, she added.

According to these rules, the street children would mean those children who live in streets, slums or on pavements, but spend most of their time on streets and are engaged in various activities.

Apart from this, other children to be covered under the definition of street children included those who work in street trades like rag picking, petty vending and shoe shining, manual jobs as coolies, helpers, cleaners, rickshaw-pullers and are employed in wayside tea stalls, restaurants, auto mobile garages, tyre and tube workshops and machine shops.

Mrs Kartar Devi said that according to the rules, priority would be given to those street children who have no family ties whatsoever. Also, priority target group from amongst the street children would be those who were victims of abuse and exploitation.

For the younger children, priority interventions would be to reinstate them in their families and facilitate their participation in the formal primary education. For older children, efforts would be directed at enhancing their productivity skills for adult life.

She said that other components of the scheme included utilising and promoting facilities for shelter and hygienic living; offering counselling, guidance and referral services to upgrade quality of life; making all possible efforts for the reintegration of the street children with their families or their placement in a family setting.

UNI