BackUpload data of all children orphaned due to Covid on Bal Swaraj portal: NCPCR to states
The move came after the Supreme Court on Friday directed the state authorities to immediately identify the vulnerable children and provide them with relief
PremiumThe National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has asked all states and union territories (UTs) to upload required data of children who lost their parents to Covid-19 on the Bal Swaraj portal.
Women and child development minister Smriti Irani had stated on Wednesday that 577 children across the country have been orphaned after their parents succumbed to Covid-19, citing reports of states 1 April till Tuesday.
She also said that the government is committed to support and protect every vulnerable child who lost both parents to Covid.
The NCPCR's move came after the Supreme Court on Friday directed the state authorities to immediately identify the vulnerable children and provide them with relief.
The top court asked state governments to understand the agony of children starving on the streets and directed the district authorities that they be immediately taken care of without waiting for any further orders from the courts.
A vacation bench of Justices L N Rao and Aniruddha Bose directed district administrations to identify the orphans in their areas and upload their data on the NCPCR website by Saturday evening.
The top court's direction came on an application filed by amicus curiae Gaurav Agrawal in the pending suo motu case seeking identification of orphaned children due to COVID-19 or otherwise and providing them immediate relief by the state governments.
The bench said state governments must inform it of the position of these children and the steps they have taken to provide them immediate relief.
“We have read somewhere that in Maharashtra over 2,900 children have lost their one or both parents due to Covid-19. We don’t have an exact number of such children. We cannot even imagine how many such children in this large country have got orphaned due to this devastating pandemic," the bench said.
It told the state government’s counsel appearing in the matter, “I hope you understand the agony of the children starving on the streets. You please ask the state authorities to immediately take care of their basic needs".
The top court noted that the Centre has already issued an advisory to the concerned authorities for the protection of children, who have lost their parents due to Covid-19.
“There is an obligation on the part of the authorities to ensure such children in need are taken care of," the bench said while referring to various provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.
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