Odisha not serious about safety of children in hostels: NCPCR

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Thursday accused the Odisha government of negligence in running shelter homes and hostels for children.

The rap from the NCPCR came days after an NGO-run shelter home was sealed in Odisha's Dhenkanal district in the wake of allegations of sexual abuse by its minor inmates.

"The state government has not taken the suggestions of the NCPCR seriously and failed to implement guidelines for the safety of the children in different child care institutions and hostels," NCPCR member Jaswant Jain told reporters here.

Jain and some members of the NCPCR visited the shelter home at Beltikiri in Dhenkanal district during the day.

The Commission had made several recommendations to improve condition of shelter homes and hostels a year ago, but the state government has not been able to implement them, Jain alleged.

Two major suggestions were installation of CCTVs in all such places and mapping of all shelter homes and hostels, he said.

He alleged that the state government has no information on the total number of shelter homes and hostels being run in Odisha by private organisations.

Earlier in the day, the NCPCR team had a meeting with state government officials on the situation of such homes.

Jain said nine teams of the NCPCR will undertake inspection of at least 56 homes or hostels spread over 19 districts of Odisha in two days from Thursday.

"If any irregularity is reported, exemplary action will be taken as per the law," the NCPCR member said.

The NCPCR's mandate is to ensure that all laws, policies, programmes, and administrative mechanisms are in consonance with the child rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Child is defined as a person in the 0 to 18 years age group.

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi, on December 8, had directed the state government to conduct a probe into the sexual abuse of minor girls in the Dhenkanal shelter home and submit a report at the earliest.