One Year After Taking It Over, MP Govt Yet To Appoint Personnel To Run ChildLine

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): More than a year after taking over ChildLine, Madhya Pradesh government is yet to make appointments of personnel for managing the emergency service. Childline India Foundation, an NGO, had been running the ChildLine helpline 1098 all over the country since 1996.

The service was available 24X7 and the calls received were transferred to the designated NGOs of the respective cities and in case of need, to the local police. The helpline was meant for victims of child sexual abuse, street children, child labourers, children affected by physical abuse in families, schools or institutions, children who need emotional guidance and support and children in conflict with law, as well as differently-abled and runaway children.

MP: ‘Wardi Utarwa Denge..’, Angry Singrauli ASI Tears Uniform In Response To BJP Leader’s Alleged Threat; CCTV Footage Goes Viral After 7 Months

In August last year, the Union ministry of women and child development decided to integrate the ChildLine helpline with the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) – 112. The ministry ordered the ChildLine India Foundation (CIF) to hand over the management of ChildLine to the respective state governments. Accordingly, in Madhya Pradesh, too, the service was handed over to the state government for management on August 31, 2023. In more than one year since then, the state government hasn’t been able to appoint personnel for running the service either on contractual basis or by outsourcing.

The ChildLine Foundation of India also had a team of dedicated volunteers and help desks at district level for follow-up of the complaints received on ChildLine. That machinery no longer exists and the cases are just being referred either to the police or to the women and child development department. Both are overworked and as a result, the children in distress are suffering, said a social activist. According to assistant director in-charge of ChildLine in the woman and child development department, Anand Shivhare, around 13,000 calls were received on Childline in the period from August 31, 2023 to July 31, 2024. In Bhopal alone 949 calls were received in this period.

"MP Is Electricity Surplus State, We Will Provide Its Benefit To Other States As Well": Chief Minister Mohan Yadav

Recruitment process to begin soon: Official

A senior officer of woman and child development departmen said that the recruitment could not be done due to the imposition of Model Code of Conduct first for the Assembly and then for the Lok Sabha polls. He said that the process of preparation reservation norms for the recruitment was underway and the process would begin soon.