Destitute child homes fudge residents' numbers for profit

State pays NGO-run cottages Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 per child per month

A study sanctioned by the Karnataka Evaluation Authority (KEA) on 51 destitute cottages for children run by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and educational societies in the State has found lapses in their functioning, with several of them showing inflated number of occupants.

KEA is an autonomous body of the State government set up as an ‘evaluation policy framework’ to improve the efficiency of government-run programmes and projects.

There are around 5,000 destitute children in these cottages and the Women and Child Development Department provides the NGOs financial support ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 per child per month.

The KEA awarded the study to Catalyst Management Services, Bengaluru, after scrutiny, to ensure that the consultant meets the parameters set by it. The evaluation was based on ground visits and a detailed questionnaire prepared in consultation with an expert committee of the KEA.

The study found that 13 of the 51 destitute cottages showed more number of children as occupants than actual. Five of these cottages are in Bidar and four in Kalaburagi. For instance, the actual number of child residents at Sri Yalalainga Destitute Children’s Home at Kotanuru in Kalaburagi is 20, but the home reported to the department that it had 75 occupants.

Bala Samarakshana in Mangaluru showed that it had 36 children, many of them from North East, staying with them for five years.

The study found that 20 of the cottages had not registered themselves under the Juvenile Justice Act. Three of the cottages surveyed had no toilets.

It was found that 15 cottages had remained non-functional with no children. Officers of the Women and Child Development Department had no role in monitoring the cottages.
Recommendations

The poor state of affairs had prompted the Karnataka Evaluation Authority  to forward several recommendations to the department, including making it mandatory to maintain a computerised registry of all children in the cottages for the destitute.

It has been recommended that every child in a destitute cottage should be given a unique number so that they can be tracked.

Also, it has been suggested that taluk-level officers should pay surprise visits to the cottages and also interact with the children.

Vocational education should be provided to children in the age group of 12 to 18 years.
A grievance redress system and complaint registering system need to be put in place, it has been suggested.

List of destitute homes and no. of children

Names of destitute cottage   Location   Stength of children reported  Actual    

Sri Thotadarya orpanage    Vijayapura    50    35
Vidyavardaka Samskruthika Sangha     Bagalkot    50    10
Shiva Yogishwara Prasad Nilaya     Gadag    50    32
Vidyananda Shikshana Vishwastha Mandali    Koppal    48    46
Sri Shanthalingeshwara Destitute Home    Bidar    25    22
Vishwanath Orphange     Bidar    50    40
Siddarameshwara Destitute Home    Bidar    25    20
Mahatma Gandhi Destitute Children’s Home    Bidar    50    35
Swami Vivekananda Destitute Children’s Home    Bidar    75    38
Sri Yalalalinga Destitute Childrens Home    Kalaburagi    75    20
Sanjeevini Education Society    Kalaburagi    25    12
Shivananda Orphanage    Kalaburagi    75    71
Mehaboob Subani Education Society    Kalaburagi    52    15