Fate of child welfare council inmates uncertain

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Turning five would be a joyous occasion in a child’s life, but not so for the children at the adoption centre of the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare. On the fifth birthday ends their chance to get parental care and as per rules, they should then be sent to government-run orphanages.With the adoption procedures at the centre coming to a standstill, thanks to the row over the administrative control of the Council, uncertainty looms large over the fate of the 54 inmates.Though there are around 500 applications for adoption pending, it is learnt that no action is being taken on them. “Each passing day is crucial in these  children’s lives and the absence of a proper governing body is spoiling their future,” said a Council official, who preferred anonymity. “Two girls in the centre would turn five in six months. The inmates also include three girls and one boy whose stay at the adoption centre was extended on humanitarian grounds even after the age of five,” he said. Though the Council sometimes keeps the children even after the mandatory five-year-age, chances are bleak to get takers for them, the officials said.“People always prefer to adopt children at a very young age. After five, children usually get some sort of sense on their orphaned lives and prospective parents are least interested in such cases,” they said.The last adoption at the centre took place on February 21 which had the formalities completed well before the row erupted. “Completing the formalities is a cumbersome task. Even in normal cases, it would take a minimum of six months. The present delay owing to petty politics is a cruelty to the kids,” another official said. It is also learnt that the Council has not initiated steps to obtain ‘free for adoption certificates’ for 46 inmates. Only after obtaining this certificate issued by the Child Welfare Committee that the Council could initiate the adoption proceedings.District Collector KN Satheesh, who has been temporarily assigned by the High Court to oversee the day-to-day affairs of the Council, said he could not take hasty decisions in adoption cases. “There were several allegations on the adoption process in the past. We are taking extra care even in cases in which procedures had already been initiated,’’ he said.Meanwhile, the Collector has ordered a probe into an allegation of illegal fund collection by former general secretary of the Council P Krishnan. Though the court had directed Krishnan to keep away from the functioning of the council, he is alleged to have collected ` 50,000 from a prospective parent. “The money was not remitted to the Council account.He is also said to have issued a receipt for the same and if true, it is a serious violation of norms,’’ the Collector said.