Mumbai: The Maharashtra government would soon roll out mobile vans with teams of social workers to rehabilitate street children in cities by offering them facilities, such as medical check-up and counselling, besides encouraging them to pursue education.

The Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday gave its nod for the state-wide implementation of the scheme after a pilot project was successfully implemented in Mumbai city, Mumbai suburban, Thane, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur, said Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare.
"Denying street children their basic rights to education and health is social injustice. The 'Mobile Squad' initiative provides children with access to education, nutrition, medical care and social security," the minister told PTI.

Mobile squads will offer counselling to street children and their parents, enrol children in school and admit orphans and single-parent children into child care institutions.

The teams will also arrange medical screening and treatment, offer support for de-addiction, help children suffering from malnutrition or those with physical challenges, facilitate rehabilitation through local NGOs and professionals, make available therapy and vocational services for adolescents, and help children get access to various government schemes.

"During the pilot phase, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) conducted a survey, which showed there were 70,000 street children in the six districts we covered, including 37,000 in Mumbai alone. We reached 12,000 children, and 3,813 of them were provided with mobile van services including medical check-ups, Aadhaar enrolment, motivation towards education, school admissions and placement in anganwadi or residential schools as well as admission of orphaned children to children's homes," said Tatkare.

The cabinet on Tuesday approved deployment of 31 mobile vans across 29 municipal corporations with a total budget of Rs 8.06 crore. Out of 31 vans, three will be moving in Mumbai, the minister said.

In the next phase, the initiative will be extended to municipal councils and pilgrimage sites, she said, adding the scheme provides an opportunity to transform street children's lives through education and rehabilitation.

A statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said the services will be delivered through child-friendly vans managed by selected NGOs. Each van will include a counsellor, teacher, female staff and driver/caregiver. The vans will be equipped with GPS tracking and CCTV cameras.

Social investigation reports will be prepared for each child, followed by a personalised rehabilitation plan.
Children will be enrolled in anganwadis or schools as per their age. Health check-ups, vaccinations, nutritional support, medical care, hygiene education and de-addiction efforts will also be included.

It is mandatory for NGOs under the scheme to ensure at least 20 per cent of identified children are enrolled in school every month.

Funds will be disbursed quarterly, with regular monitoring by District Women and Child Development Officers, the statement said.