Street Salvation

Few policies are as unambiguously virtuous as helping homeless children. In approving the expansion of a scheme involving mobile outreach units for street children, the Mahayuti cabinet has taken a commendable step. The initiative will now be rolled out across 29 municipal corporations, including two zones of Mumbai. Each city is to be served by a specially equipped van staffed by a teacher, a counsellor a female caretaker and a driver.

It is a humane response to a widespread tragedy. India is home to an estimated 18 million street children, of whom Maharashtra hosts a disproportionately high number. These children face physical abuse, addiction, malnutrition and sexual exploitation. They are often invisible to the state. By recognising them as citizens in need of tailored care, the scheme could alter the course of thousands of lives. That, at least, is the hope.

The implementation plan is impressively detailed. Each van will have CCTV and GPS to ensure transparency. Children are to be assessed through social investigation reports after which tailored rehabilitation plans are to be drawn up. Regular school enrolment, nutritional support, health checks, hygiene lessons, addiction counselling and artistic engagement are all part of the package. Targets have been set: NGOs are to ensure that at least 20 percent of identified children are enrolled in schools each month. Progress will be monitored by district officials and funds disbursed quarterly.

Yet, good intentions alone do not guarantee good outcomes. India’s track record of outsourcing public welfare services to NGOs is mixed. Several government schemes like the Integrated Child Protection Scheme and even midday meal programmes have faced allegations of inflated numbers, ghost beneficiaries and misuse of funds.

The government has stated that partner NGOs will be selected carefully. But without an independent audit mechanism, performance reviews and an enforceable grievance redressal system, the project risks descending into the kind of well-meaning but poorly executed welfare that has dogged Indian public policy for decades.

The initiative is also vulnerable to political meddling. In Maharashtra, the appointment of NGOs without transparent tendering or competitive selection could open the door to cronyism. Worse, if data is manipulated to meet monthly enrolment quotas, the outcome will be a statistical illusion masking continued neglect. Some difficult questions like happens to children who age out of the programme or who resist formal schooling remain unanswered. Nor is there any mention of the legal framework for rescuing children from exploitative environments, or of how the scheme will interact with existing bodies like the Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) and Juvenile Justice Boards.

Still, Maharashtra deserves credit for ambition. The mobile outreach vans are a nimble, visible means of taking the state to its most vulnerable citizens, rather than waiting for them to come forward. But vigilance is key. Without rigorous oversight, the vans could become white elephants. The government must resist the temptation to cut corners and ensure that the rights of children are not just promised, but protected.