Bhubaneswar: Days after a watchman and a 13-year-old boy were arrested allegedly for raping a 16-year-old tribal girl at a govt-funded child care institution (CCI) in Kendrapada, the state govt ordered a statewide inspection of every such facility, whether registered or not. Collectors have been asked to submit a district-wise action-taken report by Sept 30.The women and child development department has asked district administrations to inspect homes, hostels, shelters, orphanages, ashrams and residential facilities run by govt agencies, NGOs, trusts, religious or charitable organisations, and other institutions that house children, even if they do not formally identify themselves as CCIs. Odisha currently has 244 registered CCIs functioning under the department.The move follows the disturbing case in Kendrapada, where the girl, an inmate of a CCI, was allegedly sexually assaulted multiple times. After she was repatriated to her home in Jharkhand, her parents discovered that she was four months pregnant.The department has asked collectors to begin the inspections immediately and ensure that no facility is left out because of its registration status or the way it describes itself.For the first time, the inspections will also be tracked digitally. Commissioner-cum-secretary Mrinalini Darswal has directed officials to record every inspection on the Awesome mobile application — developed to manage anganwadi facilities — with paper-based inspections discontinued with immediate effect. “An inspection not entered on the application will not be treated as an inspection carried out,” the department said.Collectors have also been told to make full use of district child protection units (DCPUs) and child welfare committees (CWCs) during the exercise. Lack of funds for officials to travel to institutions, the department said, will not be accepted as a reason for leaving any facility unvisited.Staffing and security have been flagged as key areas of scrutiny. Police verification has been made mandatory for everyone working in such facilities, including contractual and part-time employees, kitchen staff, security guards and caretakers. District administrations will have to maintain and periodically update the verification records.Any adverse information against a staff member will require their immediate removal from contact with children, Darswal said.The inspections will also focus on the health of children living in these facilities. Every child will have to undergo a medical examination immediately after coming to the facility and at regular intervals. Girls must be examined by a woman medical officer, with the findings recorded on the Awesome application.Facilities found operating without registration will face sealing and prosecution under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and other applicable laws, including the Pocso Act.Under sections 41 and 42 of the Juvenile Justice Act, institutions housing children must be registered, while Section 54 provides for their periodic inspection. Children found in unregistered facilities cannot simply be left there while the institution seeks regularisation. They must instead be produced before the CWC for appropriate placement, restoration or rehabilitation, the department said.
