Children constitute 17.34 per cent of Mizoram’s total population. Mizoram may be a small state in terms of population and area, but the percentage of both child abuse and crimes committed by juveniles is quite high. The Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India in its “Study on Child Abuse: INDIA 2007” ranked Mizoram second in child abuse amongst the 13 states of India covered under the study. The study found that “in four of these states, the percentage of physical abuse was alarmingly high, above 80%. These states were Assam (84.65%), Mizoram (84.64%), Delhi (83.12%) and Uttar Pradesh (82.77%).”
A “Study of Child Abuse in Mizoram” prepared by the Social Welfare Department and Aizawl-based NGO, Human Rights & Law Network (HLRN) on 27 October 2012 revealed that children are not safe anywhere in the state as most cases of child sexual abuse were committed by relatives, friends and teachers of the victims. The study revealed that Mizoram recorded 630 cases of child sexual abuse during the period of2003 to 2009. Of these, 248 cases were registered by the Criminal Investigation Department of Mizoram Police, 240 cases by district police stations, 124 cases by the Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) and 18 cases by the Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl, Mizoram’s apex women body.
Juvenile delinquency equally remains high. During the last decade from 2002 to 2011, the National Crime Records Bureau under the Ministry of Home Affairs recorded a total of 1,699 cases of “juvenile delinquency” in Mizoram. These include 1,258 cases registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 441 cases under the Special and Local Laws (SLL) in Mizoram.
According to official records, 89 cases of child abuse and 35 cases of juvenile crimes were registered in the state during January to March 2012. This included 76 cases of physical abuse and 13 cases of sexual abuse against minors registered by the Social Welfare Department, and 35 cases of juvenile crimes recorded by the Juvenile Justice Boards.
Yet, Mizoram has failed to show interest in the proper implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2000 (amended in 2006) [hereinafter referred to as “JJ (C&PC) Act”]. Although the JJ(C&PC) Act has been enacted more than a decade ago, the statutory support services namely the Juvenile Justice Boards and the Child Welfare Committees in Mizoram have been set up in all the eight districts only during 2010-11.
Lack of special homes and overcrowding in the existing ones with poor facilities
Mizoram has failed miserably in providing institutional care. There are eight districts i.e. Aizawl, Champhai, Kolasib, Lawngtlai, Lunglei, Mamit, Saiha and Serchip but so far only two “Observation Home-cum-Special Homes” at Aizawl and Lunglei respectively have been set up. Yet, surprisingly the Ministry of Women and Child Development sanctioned Rs 4.77 lakhs as Central share for “Maintenance of 4 existing [2 Observation Homes and 2 Special Homes] being run by State Government [for 225 children]” during 2010-117 and Rs 67.07 lakhs for the same purpose during 2011-12. The Mizoram government itself admitted at the 39th Projects Approval Board (PAB) Meeting under Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) held on 15th March 2012 that “the four government-run Homes, two Homes cum Special Homes at Aizawl and Lunglei are run under one roof, without separate infrastructure and staff.” Therefore, the sanctioning for four Homes (2 Observation Homes and 2 Special Homes) is a mis-representation of facts.
The “Observation Home-cum-Special Homes” are crowded. As per the RTI reply dated 28 November 2011 received from the Social Welfare Department, Mizoram, the sanctioned capacity at Observation Home-cum-Special Home at Lunglei is 75.9 But ACHR during field visit found that the Home has a capacity to house only 10 inmates, boys only. The Officer in Charge took the initiative of adding 4 extra beds for the inmates as sometimes number of inmate increases beyond the capacity. However, many a times the inmates exceeded 14 and in such situations the inmates had to sleep on the floor. At the 39th PAB Meeting under ICPS held on 15th March 2012, a Member of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights stated that “there is space crunch in the present homes and children had to sleep on floor as there is no space for cots. There are no separate facilities for boys and girls and the buildings are old and in depleting conditions Hence, new buildings need to be constructed for which grants were requested.”
Non-utilization of Central funds
Ironically, Mizoram government has failed to utilize the grants under ICPS provided by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The Ministry ofWomen and Child Development sanctioned Rs 1,95,35,750 (Rupees One Crore Ninety Five Lakh Thirty Five Thousand Seven Hundred and Fifty only) for the financial year 2010-11 and Rs 2,25,46,000 (Rupees Two Crore Twenty Five Lakhs Forty Six Thousand only) as the Central share for the financial year 2011-12 under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (IPCS). On 6 July 2012, Mizoram informed the PAB that Rs 75.25 lakhs was lying unspent from the grants of 2001-12! Further, the State government informed that it had received construction grant for 2 Government Homes in 2011 but this grant was still unutilized.
Lack of education and vocational training
The Observation Home-cum-Special Home at Lunglei has one educational instructor and one craft instructor but ACHR has found that there is no school or formal education being provided at the Home.
The state government of Mizoram admitted before the PAB on 6th July 2012 that no vocational training was being provided to children in the Homes. The PAB advised the State government to develop linkages with the Corporate Social Responsibility programs as well as vocational training institutes providing training, through the Labour Department and other Government Departments such as Tribal Affairs, so that market driven training followed by a certificate can be provided.
Lack of segregation of juveniles
At Observation Home-cum-Special Home at Lunglei there is no segregation of the juveniles on the basis of age and nature of offences as provided under the JJ (C&PC) Act.
Shortage of staff
The post of Warden at the Observation Home-Cum-Special Home at Aizawl has been lying vacant for the last 2 years.
At Shelter Home at Aizawl out of the 14 sanctioned staff, only six staffs viz. Superintendent, Case Worker, Counsellor, Home Father, Cook and Educator have been appointed. At the Shelter Home at Mamit, out of 14 sanctioned posts only two staff i.e. the Superintendent and cook have been appointed. The Shelter Home at Champhai is being managed by the governing body as only one out of 14 sanctioned posts has been filled. All these three Shelter Homes are funded by the Ministry of Women and Child Development through ICPS.
Status of the JJBs and CWCs
Mizoram has established JJBs and CWCs in all eight districts. At the 43rd PAB Meeting under ICPS held on 6 July 2012, the state government informed that pendency at the JJBs was high and number of sittings needed to be increased. Mizoram also reported that there were 19 cases pending in the CWCs at the last day of the quarter in 2011-12. It is alleged that CWC members hardly attend training programmes organized by the government. Moreover, all members are busy workers and do not have time for the CWCs.
Lack of inspections
ACHR has found that in a number of juvenile justice homes, there is hardly any inspection. The State Inspection Team has conducted only one inspection at Government Observation Home-Cum-Special Home at Aizawl since its establishment in 1986 and no inspection has been done by the State Inspection Team at Government Observation Home-Cum-Special Home at Lunglei since its inception in 2008. There has not been any inspection by the State Inspection Team or Mizoram State Child Protection Society (MSCPS)/ District Child Protection Society (DCPS) officials at the three newly established Government-funded Shelter Homes at Aizawl, Mamit and Champhai. At the 43rd PAB Meeting under ICPS held on 6th July 2012, the state government of Mizoram informed that only 31 inspections have been undertaken since 2007 when seven out of the eight inspection committees were formed. The PAB advised Mizoram to activate the inspection committees as per the JJ(C&PC) Act and State Juvenile Justice Rules and regular inspections, including surprise visits, should be undertaken.
