Modi Govt directs all Hospitals and Orphanages to put Cradles for unwanted kids

June 29, 2017

This 'Palna' system is in place in Rajasthan where it has been immensely successful.

The Centre has ordered all the hospitals & orphanages to put up cradles in front of their buildings so that parents can safely give up unwanted babies.

This 'Palna' scheme'll help bridge the gap between the no. of children available for adoption & the increasing list of adoptive parents.

As of May 2017, there're 1766 children in child-care institutions across India, while there're 15,200 prospective adoptive parents waiting in queue.

Women & Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi told PTI that "the idea is to encourage parents to come & surrender their babies in the cradles so that they do not abandon them or kill them. It's a humane & yet anonymous way to give up your child."

The ministry has already sent out orders for implementation of this scheme even as it awaits clearance from Ministry of Home Affairs to set up such cradles in front of police stations too.

"We want such cradles in places where there's night staff present, so they can take the child immediately in" the minister said.

Cradles will be fitted with a bell by which staff can be alerted to the arrival of a child. Then the baby can be taken to the local child welfare committee & screened further to evaluate if it's fit for adoption.

The 'palna' system is in place in Rajasthan where CM Vasundhara Raje Scindhia's 2015-16 Ashray Palna Sthal Yojna has been immensely successful.

Under this scheme, 65 cradles at medical colleges & hospitals were set up to save the newborns abandoned by their parents.

Children are often thrown in dustbins, hedges & water bodies, exposing them to life risks. In less than a year, this scheme has saved 35 newborns of whom 25 were girls.

The ministry has already identified government and private hospitals & orphanages as prime locations to place such cradles.