‘Ministry has no database of street children’
New Delhi, May 1: The women and child development ministry has no database of street children, the target group of Integrated Scheme for Street Children (ICPS) Programme, a parliamentary committee has said, terming the findings as "surprising".
The parliamentary standing committee on human resource development in its report said: "The committee is surprised to know that the ministry does not have any database on the street children in the country, the target group of the ICPS while analysing the scheme."
The ICPS aims at providing shelter, nutrition, health care, education and recreation facilities to street children and seeks to protect them against abuse and exploitation.
The panel in its report suggested that the ministry start preparing a data base detailing the number of children on the streets and those benefiting from this scheme.
Expressing displeasure over the lack of basic infrastructure in the centres and effectiveness in the new scheme, the committee pointed out that despite 90 per cent of the financial assistance for the scheme being provided by the Central government, there seems to be lack of initiative for encouraging state governments and involving more NGOs for opening up centres for street children. (PTI)
