Govt scheme to empower beggars in the pipeline

NEW DELHI: In a bid to provide a dignified life to the beggars of the Capital, the Delhi government will soon work on a number of new schemes which will include giving training on handicrafts, tailoring, providing registered identity cards and also a minimum remuneration for beggars who will opt for these training programmes.

According to the plan, those living at government beggar homes will be offered the training and those who enroll will get Rs 250 per day to ensure their sustenance.

They will also get official ID cards, which, the government hopes, will motivate others to join the programme too.

In the end, those who successfully complete the course will get necessary kits, such as sewing machines.

According to sources, earlier attempts to deal with street dwellers and beggars, who form a majority of India's burgeoning homeless population, had not borne desired fruits.

Elaborating on the upcoming schemes, Delhi government officials said that they will begin by showing videos to beggars of success stories of other people from their background, so as to keep them motivated to be a part of the scheme once they are enrolled.

The first such scheme was initiated by the Charity Commission in the United Kingdom, which was supported by 20-25 individuals, NGOs and the British government.

Delhi government officials said that the social aspects of the homelessness problem are further intensified by the huge economic divide between different classes, especially in metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai, where begging is considered to be a punishable offence.

Beggars and street dwellers often are sent to government homes, but inevitably end up on the streets again due to lack of sufficient resources.

A programme initiated earlier this year by the Maharashtra government serves as a precedent for the empowerment scheme planned by Delhi government.

The scheme in Maharashtra was aimed at incorporating 70,000 of the beggars into the state's workforce.

Now, the Delhi government is gearing up to strike at the root of the homelessness problem, with its scheme looking to address the more fundamental issue of eradiating widespread illiteracy among Delhi underprivileged masses.

Sources in the Delhi Social Welfare Department said the first focus will be on child beggars, with officials informing that the Department will exhort parents of child beggars to give their children an education. If they agree, the state government will take measures to give them classes.

Sources added that Delhi, being the Capital, is seeing a daily increase in the number of beggars. These people mostly comprise of migrants from other states and countries.

The government also stated that several rackets are involved in the Capital, aimed at exploiting this population.

In prominent places like Connaught Place, Jama Masjid, Red Fort and Chandi Chowk, people are even harassed by beggars. Various media reports and police complaints show that in many cases, thefts and snatching-related incidents are traced back to child beggars.

Keeping this in mind, the Delhi government wants to make Delhi beggar-free.