Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 21: In a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Advocate Parimoksh Seth seeking directions for implementation of Prevention of Beggary Act, 1960 and Prevention of Beggary Rules, Division Bench of State High Court comprising Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur today directed State to construct adequate number of beggars homes, children home and sick home within a period of six months.
“It is also made clear that if the process initiated is not implemented within a period of six months, it is well open to the petitioner to approach this court for appropriate directions and in that event this court will be constrained to take serious view against the officers responsible for the delay”, the DB said.
“In the status report filed by the Commissioner Secretary to Government, Social Welfare Department, it has been stated that draft notification for extending the Act to whole of the State of Jammu and Kashmir has been prepared and sent to the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs for vetting”, the DB observed.
“A meeting was convened in the Social Welfare Department on May 9, 2014 under the chairmanship of Secretary, Social Welfare Department, which was attended by representatives of Home, Health and Medical Education Departments and a number of decisions were taken in the meeting. For implementing the proposals/decisions, a sum of Rs 84.24 lakh in the first instance is required in the two capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu for hiring the buildings for beggars home and children home”, the DB said.
The department has taken up the matter with the Finance Department and the concurrence of the Finance Department is awaited, the DB said, adding “two Provincial Directors of the Social Welfare Department were directed to identify the land and prepare DPRs for construction of beggars home and children home in two capital cities for accommodating at least 50 inmates on a minimum need basis. As and when the DPRs are received from the Directors of Social Welfare Department the same shall be vetted from the Joint Development Commissioner (Works) and thereafter a comprehensive proposal will be submitted to the Planning and Development Department and the Finance Department for providing funds”.
“In so far as the construction to sick home is concerned, the Social Welfare Department has requested the Health and Medical Education Department to intimate whether they have the necessary infrastructure in place for housing of persons suffering from leprosy or other infectious/contagious disease. The whole process of construction of different kinds of home for the beggars is dependent on the details of the survey to be conducted by the Director General of Police and only on completion of the survey the number of home, their intake capacity and location in the State will have to be determined”, the DB observed.
The DB made it clear that financial constraint cannot be stated as reason to delay the project/decisions already taken. For effecting implementation of the Act and the Rules, construction of Beggar’s home, children home and sick home are mandatory, the DB added.
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