Delhi, Tirupati, Guwahati, Patna, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Agra, and Ayodhya are among the 75 places on the list where municipal corporations will take on the task of identifying and rehabilitating beggars as a first step toward implementing the comprehensive scheme launched by the Centre to address the problem in February 2022.
The scheme’s various components include identification, rehabilitation, medical facility provision, counselling, education, and skill development for employment opportunities.
In charge of the rehabilitation effort
Dr. Virendra Kumar, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, launched the “SMILE-75 Initiative” on August 12 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of India’s independence. Municipalities from various Indian states will be in charge of the rehabilitation effort under this initiative. It stretches from Andhra Pradesh’s Viskhapatnam and Vijayawada to Assam’s Silchar and Doboka. Gaya and Hajipur in Bihar are at one end of the list, while Hubballi-Dharwad in Karnataka is at the other. Aside from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Odisha, the list also includes Haryana’s Panchkula, Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamshala, and Manipur’s Imphal. The list also includes areas in Uttar Pradesh, Rajashtan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, and West Bengal.
In February of 2022, the Ministry of Social Justice launched “SMILE – Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise.” This includes a sub-scheme called “comprehensive rehabilitation of begging individuals.”
Rehabilitation of persons engaged in the act of begging
According to the 2011 Census, the total population of beggars and vagrants is approximately 4.13 lakh. Most of them struggle to meet their basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing, trapping them in a cycle of poverty. In accordance with the roadmap laid out as part of the comprehensive plan, the identified municipal corporations will now undertake comprehensive rehabilitation of persons engaged in the act of begging under the “SMILE-75 Initiative.”
The roadmap entails conducting surveys, identifying those found begging, directing outreach work to mobilise the individuals, and establishing “adhikar grehs” (shelter homes) near areas where people engage in begging and connecting them to education, skilling, and employment opportunities.
