Jharkhand State Level Stakeholders’ Consultation on Protection of Children with Disabilities

Ranchi: Jharkhand State Level Stakeholders’ Consultation on Protection of Children with Disabilities was organized by the Juvenile Justice –cum- POCSO Committee, High Court of Jharkhand in association with Department of Women, Child Development and Social Security, Government of Jharkhand in collaboration with UNICEF, Judicial Academy, Jharkhand on 17th of August, 2024.

Key objectives of the consultation are to enhance understanding of the situation of Children with Disabilities (CwD) and their rights, entitlements, and accessible services under the RPWD Act 2016, JJ Act, and POCSO Act and to share progress, identify gaps, and discuss solutions to strengthen the protection of vulnerable children, including those in need of care and protection, children in conflict with the law, and victims of sexual violence. Additionally, the consultation provides a platform for stakeholders to review and share progress in improving services for children under the JJ Act and POCSO Act, building on the outcomes of previous state consultations.

Guests and Participants of the Programme

The consultation was graced by the esteemed presence of the Chief Guest, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad, the Acting Chief Justice and Chairperson JJ cum POCSO Committee, High Court of Jharkhand, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Anil Kumar Choudhary, Hon’ble Mrs. Justice Anubha Rawat Choudhary, other Hon’ble Judges of High Court of Jharkhand; Mr. L. Khiangte, Chief Secretary, GoJ; Mr. Manoj Kumar, Secretary, DWCD&SS; Ms. Parul Sharma, UNICEF; Divisional Commissioners, Officers from Department of Health, Education and district functionaries.

The Consultation was attended by over 400 participants, including DLSA Secretaries, Principal Magistrates, JJB, Special Juvenile Police Units, Civil Surgeons, District Social Welfare Officers, District Child Protection Officers, Chairpersons, Child Welfare Committee, Members, Juvenile Justice Board, Officers in charge of Mahila Thana, Legal –cum-Probation Officers, State Program Managers, JSLPS, C.I.P. and RINPAS, Superintendent, Observation Home, NGOs working for disabled children, members of UNICEF.Law students of NUSRL and Chhotanagpur Law College, Ranchi were present as volunteers.

Inaugural Session

The Consultation was organized under the aegis of Hon’ble Juvenile Justice Committee, Supreme Court of India. It commenced with welcome song by Children with Special Needs.

Mr. Manoj Kumar, Secretary, DWCD&SS gave welcome address and emphasized on the status of children with disability within JJ system, convergence with education and health and shared Department’s commitment for improving specialized services and capacities of DWCD&SS.

Ms. Parul Sharma, UNICEF, Jharkhand shared about UNICEF’s Disability Inclusion Strategy and Policy 2022-2030 and commitment to support government on having inclusive development.

Mr. L Khiangte, Chief Secretary, GoJ emphasized increasing awareness among children with disability on right and entitlements and how to access it and he said that State is committed to reduce the impediments and barriers for making a more inclusive society. He also mentioned about focusing on strengthening community-based programs for children with disability.

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad, Hon’ble the Acting Chief Justice and Chairman, JJ -cum-POCSO Committee, High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi was the Chief Guest and delivered the Inaugural Address addressed on the critical importance of safeguarding the rights and entitlement of children with disabilities, particularly those within the Juvenile Justice (JJ) system. He also stressed on the need for societal change and equal opportunities for CwD.

Department of Education, GoJ introduced about ‘Jyoti’ software and its usage and implications for visually impaired children. The initial software was built by Israel in about 4 lacs Rupees. However, India has manufactured its own software ‘Jyoti’ in about 20000 Rs and has also patented the same. The software enables such visually impaired children to identify the surrounding with the help of inbuilt artificial intelligence. This application also works in crowded places also. Live demonstration of the software was shown by a visually impaired child, Vijay Lohra.

 

Thereafter, children with disability performed welcome song. Ms. Tanvee, Deputy Secretary JJ cum POSCO Committee, facilitated felicitation of academically excellent CwD and children who participated in the program. Children were distributed smartphones, laptops equipped for visually impaired children, Braille documents and student kit. Two visually impaired children, Ms. Ananya Bhardwaj, class 5 student from Deoghar and Mr. Munib Alam, class 8 student from Hazaribagh shared their life experience before the audience.
Vote of thanks was proposed by Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, JJ cum POCSO Committee, High Court of Jharkhand.

Exhibition cum Sale by Children with Disabilities

The magnificent Children’s Art Exhibition cum Sale was inaugurated by Hon’ble the Acting Chief Justice, High Court of Jharkhand. Over 150 exhibit items were prepared by Children with Disability. The dignitaries and participants happily purchased these articles and all CwD were facilitated who attended the Programme.

Technical Sessions

The 1st Technical Session was chaired by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Anil Kumar Choudhary, Judge and Member, Juvenile Justice -cum- POCSO Committee, High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi. The expert speakers of the first Technical Session were Shri. Praveen Kumar G., Lead Advisor Social Inclusion at VSO who was also visually impaired; Ms. Gopika Anand, Principal, Deepshikha Special School, Ranchi; and Prof. Dr. Nishant Goyal, M.D., Psychiatry, C.I.P., Ranchi.

The 2nd Technical Session was chaired by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajesh Kumar, Judge, High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi. The experienced speakers of the Second Technical Session were Dr. Amool Ranjan Singh, HoD & Professor of Clinical Psychology, RINPAS; Shri Anurag Gupta, Director General of Police, Jharkhand; Ms. Kumari Ranjana Asthana, Member Secretary, JHALSA and Ms. Rajshree Aparna Kujur, DLSA Secretary, Khunti.

The 3rd Technical Session was chaired by Hon’ble Mrs. Justice Anubha Rawat Choudhary, Judge and Member, Juvenile Justice -cum- POCSO Committee, High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi. Shri Aditya Ranjan, S.P.D., Department of Education, Government of Jharkhand and Shri Abhay Nandan Ambastha, Additional Secretary, DWCD&SS –cum- Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Government of Jharkhand shared their thoughts and experience in this session.

Two differently abled speakers graced our session motivating all participants and viewers. Every technical session was followed by an open house discussion and QR code was available for submission of recommendations, suggestions and good practices even after the session. Reference material was provided in soft copies as well as hard copies to all the participants.

The Valedictory Session was the last session of the day in which Ms. Priti Srivastava, Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF shared her views and reflected upon the key highlights of the Programme.

The Programme was a huge success for the High Court as well as the State of Jharkhand, which paved the way for execution of ideas and proposals discussed in deliberations by the stakeholders.

E-Carts were available from High Court of Jharkhand for comfortable movement of CwD. The entire Programme was translated by sign language interpreters for benefit of persons with disability.

The Consultation Programme was live telecasted on You Tube channel “Jharkhand Livecast”.