Taking new measure to centralize adoption process under the Central Adoption Resource Authority or CARA, Women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi introduced new guidelines.
The “Guidelines Governing Adoption of Children, 2015” issued under a notification from the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development in July this year, allows single parents (separated, divorced, unwed mothers) eligible to adopt through online registration.
Addressing a workshop on review of women and child related schemes, Mrs. Gandhi expressed concern over several issues like child abuse, child trafficking and lack of specialized adoption resource centres in states.
“We have revised the guidelines of CARA but there were very few adoption agencies in every state. There are only 633 Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) and 278 State Adoption Agencies (SAAs) operational in 677 districts which should be otherwise one each district under the law,” she said.
The proposed guidelines however didn’t go well with the Missionaries of Charity, set up by Mother Teresa, that today announced that it had ‘stopped adoption at their orphanages two months ago’. It said, “Complying with all the provisions would have been difficult for the organisation.”
According to a TOI report, the Missionaries of Charity had sought de-recognition of 13 of its 16 orphanages opposing the new adoption guidelines. Gandhi said that the orphanages had been following their own agenda but now would have to come under the ‘unified secular agenda’.
“Till now the Mother Teresa’s (Foundation) orphanages had their own agenda and now when they have to come under a unified secular agenda they are refusing it. They have decided not to follow the guidelines,” the minister said.
The Women and Child Development Ministry had recently said they would identify those child care homes, which are not complying with the revised guidelines of the Juvenile Justice Act, one of which includes orphanages run by the Missionaries.
