DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

Under 'Project Jeevanjot-2', the Punjab government has rescued 41 children in raids at 18 locations across in the last two days as it has stepped up efforts to eradicate child begging from the state. Punjab's Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Dr Baljit Kaur on Friday said if the culprits are found pushing children into begging or are found to be trafficking networks or mafias exploiting children, they will face punishments ranging from five years imprisonment to life sentence.

In cases of physical abuse or violence, the punishment will not be less than 20 years, the minister warned.

In a move aimed at checking child trafficking and their exploitation for begging, the Punjab government has directed all Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to conduct DNA tests on children found begging with adults on the streets to verify their relationship.

"Punjab, a land revered for its gurus, saints, and warriors, cannot allow the shameful practice of child begging to continue unchecked," Kaur said.

"When children are forced to beg on streets, it is not just their dignity that suffers, it raises serious questions on our society's collective conscience and on the honour of Punjab itself," she added. The minister said that the state government launched 'Project Jeevanjot' in September 2024, to rescue children found begging across the state. "In the last 9 months, through 753 rescue operations (raids) across districts, 367 children were successfully rescued. Of these, 350 children were reunited with their families, while 17 children whose parents could not be identified were placed in Child Care Homes. Of the total rescued, 150 children belonged to other states and were safely sent back to their families," Kaur said here.

As many as 183 rescued children were admitted to schools, 13 children under the age of 6 were enrolled in Anganwadi centres for early childhood care while 30 children from extremely poor families were enrolled in the sponsorship scheme, receiving Rs 4,000 per month to ensure their education continues uninterrupted. Sixteen children were brought under the State's pension scheme, receiving Rs 1,500 per month, she said.

The minister said that the state government is not just rescuing children but ensuring continuous monitoring. Every three months, district-level child protection teams verify whether these children continue attending school and are not back on the streets.

Despite these efforts, 57 children were found missing again from the schools nor they were found at homes.

"This raised an alarming question: Are these children truly safe with their families, or have they fallen victim to human trafficking or begging mafias?," she said, while adding to address these concerns too, Punjab has now upgraded and intensified its mission under 'Project Jeevanjot-2'. The Punjab government has introduced DNA testing in suspicious cases where it is unclear whether the adults are the child's biological parents, she said.

(editor@dailyworld.in)