Maha to form panel under CS to regulate day care centres

The Maharashtra Government will set up a committee under the state Chief Secretary to study ways to regulate private day care centres, an official said today.
The official from the Women and Child Welfare department said that initially the government had planned to form a panel under Secretary of either his department or Home, but the plan was later changed.
At present, the state government virtually has no control on private day care centres as there are no norms to control their operations.
"The idea was to form a committee under the secretary of either Women and Child development department or Home department.

"Later, a minister intervened and suggested that as the issue is related to various departments like Women and Child Development, Home, Education, Public Health and Urban Development, hence a committee should be headed by the chief secretary who can coordinate with all other departments," the official added.
The move comes against the backdrop of an incident at a creche at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai, where a 10-month-old girl was allegedly assaulted by a caretaker on November 21 last year.
In the Legislative Assembly session held at Nagpur last year, the Women and Child Development Minister Pankaja Munde had assured that her department will come up with a policy to regulate private day care centres.