The Centre has come up with a new programme to prevent children in Maoist-affected areas from picking up weapons and becoming part of armed conflicts. It will pack off kids, particularly adolescents, to schools, ensure they do not bunk classes or drop out, counsel them against Maoists and arms and make sure they are in the pink of health.
The special scheme, ‘Bal Bandhu’, involves protecting children’s rights in areas of civil unrest by focusing exclusively on their issues through specially appointed “child defenders”. The defenders will keep a watch on children and protect them.
To begin with, the scheme prepared by the women and child development (WCD) ministry and National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) will be implemented in 10 districts spread across five states — Assam (Kokrajhar, Chirang, NC Hills), Andhra Pradesh (Khammam), Maharashtra (Gadchiroli), Bihar (Jamui, Rohtas, East Champaran, Sheohar) and Chattisgarh (Dantewada).
The scheme will be implemented through NCPCR with assistance from state governments.
The focus will be on mobilisation of communities through trained local youth volunteers called ‘Bal Bandhu’.
The activities of the child defenders will include finding adolescent boys and girls missing from Maoist-hit area and creating an atmosphere for their return to the mainstream. They would repair and revive schools, enroll children, keep an eye on dropouts, monitor children’s health and nutritional and educational developments via community mobilisation.
“They [‘Bal Bandhu’] will bring stability in the lives of such children by ensuring they have access to entitlements such as protection, health, nutrition, sanitation, education and safety,” a WCD draft guideline of the scheme says.
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