Red tape holds up adoption of over 30 children/Bal Vikas

Red tape holds up adoption of over 30 children Himanshi Dhawan, TNN 12 September 2009, 01:55am IST Print Email Discuss Bookmark/Share Save Comment Text Size: | NEW DELHI: At least 30 abandoned and orphaned children - many with special needs and all in line for international adoptions - have been waiting to be placed in families. The delay is not in finding families that are willing to accept these children but because of bureaucratic delays in government. The situation has reached such a head that a Singapore-based NRI waiting for clearances to adopt a child has even complained to the PMO about the inordinate delay. According to sources, there are nine domestic and two international agencies whose licence - to allow them to conduct intra-country adoptions - has been up for renewal. However, delays within the nodal Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) and the ministry of women and child development (WCD) have put a spanner in the works for children being kept by these agencies. According to Mumbai-based agency Bal Vikas's managing trustee J Panigrahi, there are 11 children whose paperwork is complete and are awaiting adoptions. "Most of the children are slow learners and have special needs. They are headed for US and Denmark," she said. India placed 821 children for intra-country adoption in 2008 but the number has been steadily declining. When asked about the delay in processing of adoptions, CARA chairman J K Mittal said, "The matter is under consideration in the ministry. I hope this will be resolved very soon." Sources, however, said CARA officials had been delaying renewal of licence of adoption agencies in anticipation of specific orders from the WCD ministry. "For the past 11 years, CARA has been clearing all files related to renewal of adoption agencies but now the secretary has asked for specific orders from the ministry for the same work," a source said. An office-bearer of a Chennai-based agency said they had placed 18 children last year. "This year, we have nine cases pending. These are children with serious disabilities like a congenital heart disease or blindness. These are always the toughest to place. But the worst is to have to wait endlessly for approvals," she said. A Kolkata agency official said they had an 18-month-old child who weighed only 800 grams at birth. "We have brought her up in swabs of cotton and now she is alright. We have found a family for her but she along with 4 others are waiting for a nod from the ministry," she added. Amongst the countries where these children are headed are US, Sweden, UK, Singapore and Denmark. Singapore-based NRI M Marirajan, a prospective parent, has complained to the PMO about the delay in getting a no-objection certificate prompting him to ask the WCD ministry for an explanation.

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