The state Women and Child Development department has launched ‘Balsnehi’ (child-friendly) buses and vans under an initiative aimed at rehabilitation of street-children. Under the project, flying squads consisting of a teacher and a counsellor along with a driver and assistant will roam around a district in the dedicated vehicle to bring these children into the mainstream and ensure their education under government schemes and initiatives.

The department has issued a Government Resolution (GR) announcing the central government’s approval for the project proposed under the Integrated Child Protection scheme. A fund of Rs 50 lakh has been approved for it. The project will have a tenure of six months and will be implemented in six districts — Mumbai city, Mumbai suburbs, Thane, Nashik, Pune and Nagpur by district women and child development officers in collaboration with NGOs working in this sector.

The GR, which lists out various tasks to be shouldered by the squad, states, “Realising that the children living on the streets are in need of care and protection, the team of flying squad, which has to have at least two women members, will prepare a social investigation report of street-children in different areas to be submitted to the Women and Child Development department.”

The child-friendly buses, each with a capacity of 25 children, will have CCTVs installed inside along with a tracking system to ensure the safety of children. The counsellor and teacher from the squads are expected to take parents of these children into confidence. If the squad identifies orphan children, they should be admitted to designated organisations with help from the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). Children should be given nutritious meals in case of malnutrition. If anybody is identified as a person with disability, he/she should be given appropriate benefits as per the available government schemes.