18 child care centres licences revoked

Vijayawada: The state government has decided to strictly follow the revised guidelines of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act of 2015 framed by the Union government on granting licence to run child care centres. The Central government has decided to follow uniformity across India to run the child care centres and revised the Juvenile Justice Act.

The revised enactment is discouraging the membership of foreigners in the Boards of the Child Care Centre. For many decades, foreigners render financial assistance to the child care centres in Krishna district and other parts of the state. Now, they can’t directly render assistance to the child care centres. Consequently, foreign funding to these centres may come down in future. 

In this backdrop, the Krishna district administration has revoked the applications of 18 child care centres, which have foreigners as members of the board. The district administration carefully verified 90 applications submitted by child care institutions and found that 18 centres have foreigners as members of the Board.  

Local officials are facing many legal hurdles to take action against the foreigners if anything goes wrong in the child care institutions. Many child care institutions are located in the remote areas in the mandals. The officials can’t keep vigil on these care centres.

B V S Kumar, chairman of the Krishna district Child Welfare Committee (CWC) said children staying in the child care centres would be shifted to other centres if the existing licences are cancelled or licences are not renewed.

On Thursday, the Child Welfare Committee members visited a child care centre in Pottipadu village of Unguturu mandal and handed over 86 children to their parents after the licence of the centre was cancelled by the government. “After the summer holidays we have to relocate these children in other centres, which will get license,” said B V S Kumar. 

He said hundreds of children are staying in the 90-odd child care centres in the district.  He said about 1,500 children have to be relocated in the district with the cancellation of licence of 18 child care centres in the district.