BENGALURU: Despite being one of the country’s fastest-growing cities, Bengaluru continues to struggle with several child protection challenges, including child labour, child begging and POCSO cases.
However, the city’s mechanism to address these issues has been severely weakened, with its five Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) functioning without full-fledged members for over the last two years. And interestingly, the state is without a minister for Women and Child Welfare.
Karnataka has 36 CWCs. These are statutory quasi-judicial bodies constituted under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. Each CWC has five members, including a chairperson. Bengaluru, which had only three CWCs until 2024, was sanctioned two additional committees.
The five CWCs in Bengaluru--North, South, East, West and Central--are, however, run by in-charge members. These CWCs are responsible for ensuring the care, protection, treatment, development and rehabilitation of children in need of protection.
In the absence of dedicated members, these committees are currently being managed by members from neighbouring districts including Bengaluru South (Ramanagara), Bengaluru Rural, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Tumakuru and other districts.
These members visit Bengaluru only on a few days of the week, even though CWCs are required to conduct sittings at least five days a week.
On some days, hearings reportedly take place with just two members, with the third member’s signature obtained later. This temporary arrangement has raised concerns over delays in handling cases and taking crucial decisions concerning vulnerable children.
Children Await Rehabilitation as CWC Posts Remain Vacant
Children rescued from unsafe environments are often left waiting in childcare institutions and shelter homes for extended periods and delay in rehabilitation.
The delay in filling these positions can be traced to the non-constitution of the selection committee responsible for appointing CWC members across the state. Earlier there were legal hurdles as well.
The selection committee, comprising a retired judge, experts and other members, is required to select members for all district-level CWCs. Since 2017, the selection committee was constituted only in 2024, with the government citing the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 as one of the reasons for the delay.
It subsequently finalised appointments for CWCs across all districts except Bengaluru. The selection committee has a three-year tenure.
Sources in the Women and Child Development Department said each CWC in Bengaluru handles around 30 to 40 cases daily, sometimes more. The committees function from 10.30 A.M to 6 P.M, with hearings frequently extending beyond working hours.
Under the JJ Act, cases can be referred by police, District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) staff, teachers, Anganwadi workers, RPF personnel or any citizen. Every police station also has a designated Child Welfare Police Officer to refer to such cases. Children can also approach the CWC directly.
A child activist, on condition of anonymity, said emergency arrangements are sometimes made to ensure rescued children are not left without shelter when regular CWC sittings are unavailable. On holidays, a member may authorise their temporary admission to a government children’s home or designated private child protection care facility. The CWC is responsible for deciding the next course of action, including restoration to the family or rehabilitation. However, the absence of full-fledged committees delays such decisions, leaving some children in care institutions for weeks or even months.
Ramaswamy, a child activist, said timely intervention is crucial to ensure that children are rehabilitated and brought back into the mainstream. “Sometimes, the CWC has to communicate with its counterpart in the respective district or state about a rescued child. The social investigation report of the child from its native place is sometimes delayed,” he said.
In September this year, the police launched a statewide operation following Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s visit to the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) yard in Yeshwanthpur. As many as 800 child labourers were rescued, including 503 from Bengaluru. Sources said FIRs were registered in some cases and the rescued children were produced before the CWCs before being shifted to government children’s homes for boys and girls and private childcare institutions. While some children were reunited with their parents, 12 children from Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and other states still remain in government homes as arrangements for escorts to take them back are yet to be made.
Bengaluru has six major government-run children’s homes and around 200 privately-run childcare institutions. CWC members are required to periodically visit these institutions to inspect the facilities and assess the conditions in which children are being housed. Child activist M Rajashekar said the lack of full-fledged CWCs has also affected the monitoring of these institutions. “Bengaluru has around 200 private childcare institutions, and CWC members are expected to visit them periodically to assess the conditions. But when the members in charge are already occupied with disposing of 30 to 40 cases every day, where will they find the time to inspect these institutions?” he asked.