GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

RAJYA SABHA

QUESTION NO. 3808

ANSWERED ON 25^TH JULY 2019

Unregistered Child Care Institutions

3808. SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

(a)Whether many Child Care Institutions (CCIs) are not registered under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and if so, the details thereof along with the action taken against them;

(b)Whether Government plans to implement compulsory registration of children in these homes to strengthen the Track Child 2.0 portal to track missing and vulnerable children and if so, the details thereof; and

(c)Whether Government has requested for mandatory uploading of data on the Track Child 2.0 portal by CCIs and State Governments to ensure better accountability and if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

(SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a)Section 41 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) requires that all institutions, which are meant, either wholly or partially, for housing children in need of care and protection or children in conflict with law, shall, be registered under this Act, within a period of six months from the date of commencement of this Act, regardless of whether they are receiving grants from the Central Government or the State Government. Section 42 of JJ Act states that any person or persons in-charge of an institution failing to comply with the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 41 shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to one year or a fine of not less than one lakh rupees or both, provided that every thirty days delay in applying for registration shall be considered as a separate offence. As directed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India vide its order dated 5th May, 2017 in the matter of Writ (Crl.) No. 102 of 2007 Exploitation of Children in Orphanages in State of Tamil Nadu Vs. UOI & Ors., the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) issued advisories to States/UTs to register all Government and Non-Governmental Organization run CCIs under Sub-section (1) of Section (41) of JJ Act by 31st December, 2017. The Ministry had directed all the States/UTs to initiate steps to close down those Institutions which have declined to register vide letter dated 20th February, 2018. As on 08.01.2019, there are 7909 institutions registered under the JJ Act as reported by the States/UTs.

(b)to (c)The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) has launched the Track Child web portal in 2012 for tracking missing children. The portal provides a database of “missing” and “found/recovered” children covered under the CPS and the JJ Act, 2015 through a networking and interactive platform of the various stakeholders including Police, Child Welfare Committees (CWCs), Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs), Child Care Institutions (CCIs). The portal facilitates matching of the missing children being reported at the Police Stations with those found children residing in the Child Care Institutions (CCIs). The Ministry has been pursuing with the States/UTs Government including police for regularly uploading data of children on Track Child portal.

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