As many as 400 cases, 160 from Ranchi and 240 from Khunti district, were registered for hearing at the special bench of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) held in Ranchi on Thursday.
The cases were directly dealt by Priyank Kanoongo, the chairperson of NCPCR. Talking about the type of cases he said, “Cases related to differently abled children seems to be a major problem in Ranchi. During the sitting we received a number of cases where these children were facing problems like lack of treatment, unavailability of disability certificate, lack of medical assistance and much more.”
Taking immediate steps regarding these issues, Kanoongo directed the officers of concerned departments like health and welfare to provide facilities to the children. “We directed the medical board which was present at the meeting to get medical tests done for those differently abled children who did not have a medical certificate. Also, the officers of health department were directed to make Ayushman Bharat cards for treatment of many such children,” he said.
Issues related to mentally retarded (MR) children were also a major concern at the sitting. "There is no facility of MR children here. We have directed the district administration to hold a meeting with RINPAS and ensure that children in need are admitted there," Kanoongo said.
He added, "The problem is that having a special home for such children requires going through a lot of complicated procedure under the Juvenile Justice Act. We will work towards making this process easier so that more organisations can come forward and set up shelter homes for MR children."
A number of cases related to poor education facilities and negligence of police in dealing with child rights related issues also came to light during the sitting of bench. "We have tried to hear as many complains as possible in the day long sitting but those complaints which have not been covered today will be transferred to Delhi," the chairperson said.