By TCN News,
New Delhi: There is a need for a new Centrally-supported initiative for the rehabilitation of beggars, demanded participants of the second consultation meeting on beggary organized by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment here on Friday. A large number of participants also argued for drafting of a model legislation on beggary which States could adopt/adapt as per their circumstances.
The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment, Mukul Wasnik, and was attended by senior representatives of Government of nearly all major States, Academic Institutions and Non-Governmental Organizations working in this field. There was consensus in the meeting that beggary is a complex issue, which needs to be tackled with care and sensitivity.
The participants were of the view that the proposed legislation should stress on prevention and rehabilitation. However, it should curb the evil of what they called ‘organized begging racket’ especially in cities, places of religious importance, etc.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Mukul Wasnik said that we need to have a strong data base with a view to work out a strategy to deal with issues relating to beggary. For this, he said, he had written to the State Chief Ministers, requesting for basic information about the incidence of beggary, and the existing legal and administrative framework in the States to deal with the problem. The Minister also said that sensitization of the State machinery to various aspects of the issue is imperative to deal with the problem in a humane and sensitive manner and added that the concerned agencies need to be trained to deal with the problem of beggary in a more professional way.
The meeting also agreed on the need for awareness generation, better implementation of schemes of poverty alleviation and social security, and for provision of community shelters for the urban homeless.