Six months of shelter, skill training: Gujarat draws up plan to free 4 cities of beggary

Gujarat has launched a rehabilitation initiative to make Vadodara, Gir Somnath, Ekta Nagar and Pavagadh cities free of beggary. The identified individuals and families will be provided shelter for up to six months, documentation, skill training and employment support as part of the initiative, as per a government release.

They will “undergo health screening, receive assistance in obtaining essential identity and welfare documents, and be given employment-oriented training before efforts to help them find work”, it stated. The roadmap was discussed at a meeting, chaired by Mona Khandhar, Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in Vadodara, held to review and strengthen the implementation of the Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE) scheme.

Vadodara, Gir Somnath, Ekta Nagar and Pavagadh are among 25 districts and locations across the country that have performed well in the first phase of the Centre's campaign. The next phase will focus on making these locations free of beggary through a coordinated rehabilitation programme.

The initiative will involve municipal bodies, district administrations, health departments, social security agencies and employment authorities. Officials will identify people engaged in begging and shift them to designated shelter facilities, where their essential documents such as Aadhaar cards, ration cards and Ayushman cards can be prepared.

Addressing the meeting, Vadodara Police Commissioner Narasimha Kumar said rehabilitation would have to take into account the fact that people engaged in begging were often part of the same family. He suggested that family members should, as far as possible, be accommodated together in shelters.

He also stressed that the government's responsibility should not end with providing training and employment, the release said. Komar said officials must carry out sustained follow-up to ensure that those rehabilitated are able to remain in their jobs and do not return to begging.

Khandhar said the families identified would first undergo health screening after being shifted to shelters. During their stay, officials will assist them in securing identity and welfare documents and provide skill development and employment-oriented training.

The rehabilitation plan envisages keeping such families in shelters for six months, during which they will receive support aimed at helping them become financially independent. Vadodara Municipal Commissioner Arun Mahesh Babu said the civic body had already identified locations in the city where begging is prevalent.

The Vadodara Municipal Corporation currently runs around eight shelter homes and plans to strengthen the network. The meeting also reviewed the preparedness of administrations in Panchmahal, Narmada and Gir Somnath, which joined the discussions online.