Child welfare panel meet on July 12

The meeting is aimed at conducting a ‘thorough assessment’ of the functioning of these homes and the procedures followed. On Wednesday,the CBI conducted a meeting with the Child Welfare Committee members regarding Preet Mandir case.

With Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) putting the onus of rehabilitation on the state,the CWC had taken the call of rehabilitating the children. “It should be done at the earliest. We will raise all the issues in the meeting,”she said.

The CWC,a quasi-judicial body under the Women and Child Development Department,has decided to take the issue of Preet Mandir in hand after an affidavit was filed by Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) in the Bombay High Court recently.

The members had written a letter to Commissioner of Women and Child Development Bajirao Jadhav to shift children to other homes from Preet Mandir.

Earlier,the members had initiated the process for shifting the children from one of the branches of Preet Mandir on which they had been issued a stay order.

CARA’s affidavit states it is the state government’s responsibility to work for the rehabilitation of children. When contacted,CARA officials said they had already put inter-country adoptions of Preet Mandir on hold till the adoption institution was cleared of all allegations. On May 20,CARA revoked recognition of Preet Mandir.

The affidavit,filed by CARA reads,“The recognition of Preet Mandir was revoked in May 2010 after the CBI registered a case against the Pune-based institution and CARA had decided not to issue a no-objection certificate in cases of inter-country adoptions effective from February 15,2010. It is for the state government now to take necessary action for the rehabilitation of the children. CARA shall,however,continue rendering assistance to the government in its efforts to de-institutionalise such children who are deprived of parental care.”