Anushka Sharma-
Published On: November 16, 2021 at 16:38 IST
On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered all District Magistrates/Collectors of all State Governments and UTs to follow the NCPCR’s Standard Operating Procedure for Care and Protection of Children in Street Situations, which was published in 2020.
The Bench is currently considering an Application filed by Amicus Curiae Gaurav Agrawal seeking directions in the case of children who have been negatively affected by the Covid Pandemic due to the loss of one or both parents, as well as increased occurrences of Child Trafficking, particularly Girls.
Amicus Curiae Gaurav Agrawal brought to the Court’s attention a study conducted by the NGO “Save the Children” mapping about 2 lakh children in the cities of Lucknow, Kanpur, Chandoli, and Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, Pune, and Nasik in Maharashtra, Kolkata and Howrah in West Bengal, and Delhi, whose Rights to protection, education, health, shelter, and sanitation have not yet been addressed.
Amicus also raised some concerns and submitted “Hardly any steps have been taken” to ensure these children get their rights. NCPCR’s Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj testified that the number might be 15-20 lakhs across the country, according to his estimation.
ASG Nataraj further stated that the figure of 2 lakhs was calculated using data from only four States, while additional Governments have yet to identify and upload data to the platform.
ASG Nataraj further urged the Court to issue a Directive to the States to “Properly attend meetings and sensitise its officers.”
“The process has to start by immediate action taken by Authorities for identification of children in street situations and thereafter provide the info to NCPCR for the later stages as well. The State governments/UTs are directed to promptly attend meetings that are held by NCPCR and offer their suggestions and voicing their concerns if there are any, in the implementation of SOP 2.0,” the Bench noted.
The Matter will be Heard on December 13, 2021.
Also Read: Street Children Rehabilitation: SC Seeks Status report from All State Governments.