The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Elections get precedence over children’s welfare?

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Friday, May 09, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Elections get precedence over children’s welfare?

Bageshree S.

Staff strength is down by over 50 per cent
Work at Child Welfare Committees has been hit

Bangalore: The Election Commission may have intervened to say that it is a violation of children’s rights to employ them on campaign trails. But the welfare of children does not seem to be a priority while appointing officers on poll duty.

The staff strength of all State-run correctional institutions — including the homes for boys, girls and the mentally-challenged — is down by over 50 per cent because they have all been deputed for election duty. “Even teachers and health staff have been deputed,” said a source.

Work at Child Welfare Committees (CWC), which hear cases of child abuse, missing children, child labour and so on, has been hit because the clerical and other office staff is out on poll work.

Vasudev Sharma, chairperson of the CWC (Unit I) in Bangalore, has no more than two Class-4 employees to help him dispose off cases. Considering that the CWC hears 15 to 20 cases, besides following up old cases in each sitting, discharging duties was close to impossible. Work such as tracing families of children who have been found or releasing children out of the boys’ and girls’ homes being run by the Government is getting inordinately delayed as well.

“I cannot expect the people who are here to document things in files and follow up cases,” Mr. Sharma said. On an average hearing day, he has three probation officers and two assistant officers to help out with the hearing.

The case of CWC (Unit II), which deals with cases related to girl children, is a only a shade worse, with security being a major issue. “Crisis intervention cases that require immediate attention are also badly hit,” said Santosh Vaz, chairperson of Unit II. “Vigilance and security of the girls lodged in the observation home are at risk because there is not enough manpower,” said Ms. Vaz. She added that lack of adequate staff is always an issue, but it is far worse because of the elections. There have been complaints of this kind from observation homes in other districts as well.

Shalini Rajneesh, Secretary to the Department of Women and Child Welfare, said that this problem had been brought to her notice and she had instructed the Deputy Commissioners to exempt some officers from poll duty so as not to disrupt the normal functioning of children’s welfare programmes. “But for a few days during elections there may be some problems,” she added.

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Karnataka