Let people working with juveniles decide their future: Activists

Civil society activists have asked Lieutenant Gover nor Najeeb Jung to ensure that people who are in direct contact with minors at juvenile homes should be involved in the decision-making process regarding their future.

The appeal comes in the backdrop of the L- G instituting a committee comprising the principal secretary (social welfare), secretary (PWD), special secretary to L-G, and the DCP of Delhi Police concerned after more than 40 minor offenders ran away from a juvenile home in Mukherjee Nagar last month.

The committee has been asked to come out with a report on the management and overall condition of observation homes.

“A committee that has bureaucrats who are already trying to deal with the issue and are not working with juvenile offenders on a day to day basis is not going to change much. The committee should listen to those who work with these children every day. We have written to the LG, asking him to consider our proposal,” said Yogesh Kumar, programme coordinator, Pratidhi, an NGO that works with children.

He said: “The problem is beyond infrastructure and security alone. The handling of the situation needs to be looked at, deeply. There are internal dynamics that need to be understood. There is no segregation based on age and there are some hardened criminals living in these homes,” he added.

“In many places, juvenile of fenders are jailed. They become hardened because of the environment they have lived in. Understanding of juvenile crime is very important and people with expertise and training are needed,” said Anant Asthana, member, Human Rights Law Network.

Experts believe that such committees would not be able to achieve much.

“Such committees were for med earlier as well but nothing concrete was achieved. Unless people working on the ground are involved, the situation will not improve,” said Rajmangal Prasad, a child rights’ activist.