DCW: Only 47 percent shelter homes operating in Delhi have licenses

Only 47 percent of shelter homes in Delhi are running with a valid license, according to a social audit report prepared by TISS Koshish, the DCW said on Tuesday. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has ordered officials to take action on the social audit report within a week, the panel added. 

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DCW partnered with TISS

The Delhi government and the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) had partnered with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to conduct a social audit of all the shelter homes in Delhi. TISS Koshish is the same organization that had exposed the horrific Muzzafarpur shelter home tragedy in Bihar where cases of rapes and murder of girls were reported.

The tragedy raised several concerns regarding the functioning of shelter homes across the country. Kejriwal and deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia then requested the DCW to engage an external and independent agency like TISS Koshish to conduct this audit.

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Team visits 83 shelter homes

The team from TISS led by Md. Tarique visited 83 shelter homes being run in the national capital both by the government as well as by NGOs, the panel said. The report has pointed out several shortcomings.

For instance, only 47 percent of the homes are running with proper licenses and 25 percent have applied for the renewal of the same and are yet to get it. Further, it was found that staff appointment was low in the shelter homes and various positions were vacant, the panel said.

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The report also pointed out several good practices in shelter homes. For instance, the report pointed out that over 85 percent of the shelter homes had recreation rooms for activities. On Tuesday, the report was presented before the Kejriwal, Sisodia and Minister of Social Justice Rajendra Pal Gautam. Kejriwal passed strong orders to the officers to prepare an action taken a report on each and every aspect of the report within seven days.

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