VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (APSCPCR) chairman Kesali Apparao has issued directives mandating all child care and rehabilitation centres in the State to obtain proper authorisation for their operations.
It has come to light that several institutions are operating under the guise of voluntary organisations, and have been violating government regulations, he said and added that these centres had been presenting children from the poor and sick families as orphans to start orphanages, grabbing funds from local and foreign donors.
The Commission has instructed district-level authorities to take stringent action against such centres.
He raised concern over the illegal activities in some unauthorised shelters, including contaminated food, mental abuse, sexual harassment, illegal trafficking, and even organ transplantation, and emphasised the need for continuous field-level monitoring.
Village secretariats, women welfare officers, and mandal-level officials have been directed to identify and verify all child care and rehabilitation centres, as well as educational institutions, to ensure they have obtained adequate permissions. These findings are to be reported to district-level officials by the end of August. He warned that organisations found violating the rules will face strict action.