'Give 1 year to improve juvenile homes'

With several Rajya Sabha members expressing concern over the condition of detention homes for juvenile convicts, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has sought one year time to improve them.

“Give me one year, after which you will not have any complaint. We are partnering with non-governmental organisations associated with child welfare and sending them to these homes to check the conditions. It will be done irrespective of the bill goes through or not,” she said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Maneka was responding to a debate on the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015, which was passed by the Upper House, seven months after it received the Lok Sabha’s nod.

Several Upper House members aired their worries on the quality of these detention centres that come under the Juvenile Justice Board and whether India has adequate number of such centres. “Detention homes for juveniles are in terrible condition,” said nominated member Anu Aga. She received support from Congress MP Viplove Thakur, who asked the minister, “Have you seen the condition of these homes? The inmates are infected by tuberculosis in some of these homes.”

Trinamool Congress member Derek Obrien said 70 per cent of juvenile criminals are from families with monthly income less than Rs 3,500 and 52 per cent of these criminals are either illiterate or studied up to the primary level.

Many senior members, including the Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, asked the minister to take care of education and rehabilitation measures of these children, who are at conflict with the law.

Maneka assured the House that her ministry was taking steps to improve the conditions of these homes and also increasing their numbers in each district. The financial support for each inmate in these Juvenile Justice Board homes has been increased from Rs 750 to Rs 2,000 per month. Also to set up a home for 50 persons, the government now provides Rs 1.9 crore as against the previous sanction of Rs 77 lakh. For children with special needs, the sanction has gone up to Rs 10.4 lakh from Rs 2.4 lakh.