27 child adoption agencies shut over irregularities: Govt

A total of 27 specialised adoption agencies (SAAs) have been shut over irregularities by the country's apex adoption body CARA, the government said today.

Out of 27, nine SAAs were from Uttar Pradesh, four SAAs were shut in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra each and three SAAs from Bihar and Gujarat, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Virendra Kumar told the Rajya Sabha.

Elaborating on how the ministries act when irregularities are reported in SAAs, Kumar said the state adoption resource agencies or state governments are requested to enquire into the matter of reported irregularity and take action as per the Juvenile Justice Act.

Over the recent cases of alleged baby selling scandal by the Missionary of Charity (MoC) in Jharkhand, Kumar said orders have been issued to carry out inspections of all MoC and for immediate identification of any such potential institutions which could be involved in "unlawful" activities.

On July 5, the Jharkhand Police had arrested a nun and an employee of a Ranchi-based organisation run by the Missionaries of Charity on charges of selling a baby allegedly for Rs 1.2 lakh.

Approximately 2,300 Child Care Institutions have been linked to Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) since December last year, while about 4,000 more are still pending for linkage.

According to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), 2,32,937 children are under the care of CCIs -- both registered and unregistered -- in the country.