INVC,,
Delhi,,
A National Consultation Meeting on Beggary was organized by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment here today. The Meeting was chaired by the Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment, Shri 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.
Most of the participants supported the need for a new Centrally-supported initiative for the rehabilitation of beggars, which should be implemented through State Governments, Panchayati Raj institutions, urban local bodies, and NGOs. A large number of participants argued for drafting of a model legislation on the subject which States could adopt/adapt as per their circumstances. The legislation should stress prevention and rehabilitation rather than punitive measures. 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, the Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment, Shri 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 including the Police should be trained to deal with the problem of beggary in a more professional way.
Shri Wasnik emphasized that the legislation alone would not be sufficient and only an attitudinal change among the people could help. Shri Wasnik said that we must find answer to the question as to why people are sliding into beggary when we have a large number of welfare schemes for almost every vulnerable segment of society. He said that the civil society should be encouraged to channelise alms and donations given at religious places etc. through charitable institutions and organizations, rather than to individual beggars.
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.
Shri Wasnik, in his concluding remarks, said that this meeting marked the beginning of a process, and urged State and Civil Society representatives to hold further wide-ranging discussions and then provide inputs for evolving a national approach to the issue of progressive minimization of beggary.
