Hyderabad: Bringing in urgency in the efforts to make Hyderabad a beggar-free, GHMC, in cooperation with the city Police and the Revenue Department, is planning to launch a special operation.
Beggars will be imparted with self-employment training. The ones who are old will be rehabilitated in the shelter homes.
Meeting held
This decision has been taken in a City Co-ordination Committee meeting held at GHMC head office. Apart from the GHMC officials, the meeting was attended by the officials from Cyberabad, Rachakonda Police, TSSP, Metro Rail, HMD and Revenue Department.
GHMC Commissioner D.S. Lokesh said, “in addition to the measures taken in the past, a special campaign will be launched to make city beggar-free”.
The Commissioner further made an appeal to the general public to participate in this campaign. He said, “The public are requested to furnish information about the beggars found at various city junctions, religious and other places.”
Law
India has no federal law on begging and destitution. About 20 states had adopted the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959 which carries a penalty of detention of three to 10 years in so-called beggar homes.
However, the Delhi High Court on August 8, 2018 has struck down the law that made begging an offence in the Indian capital.
The Delhi High Court observed in its ruling, “people beg on the streets not because they wish to, but because they need to. Begging is their last resort to subsistence. Criminalizing begging is a wrong approach to deal with the underlying causes of the problem and violates the fundamental rights of some of the most vulnerable people”.
