CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu State Policy for Children (TNSPC), released in November 2021, is due for revision after its validity ended in 2024, even as the government is yet to release a long-pending action plan to guide its implementation.
The absence of an action plan, meant to outline execution across departments, has drawn criticism from stakeholders, who say several initiatives under the policy remain only partially implemented or untracked.
The policy was unveiled by Chief Minister MK Stalin in 2021, shortly after assuming office, amid rising concerns over crimes against children. The Department of Children Welfare and Special Services (DCWSSC) was tasked with preparing the action plan, but has not released it so far.
Senior officials in the department told DT Next that delays stem from a lack of coordination among line departments.
A former member of the drafting committee said the policy was originally prepared in 2015 and submitted to the then AIADMK government in 2017, but remained pending. “It was resubmitted after the change in regime in 2021 and finally released. However, the action plan, which should have been followed within a year, is still missing,” the member said.
Calling for urgent course correction, the member added that the policy must now be revisited to reflect the current challenges facing children, and that an implementation roadmap should be released.
Child rights activists pointed out that key measures, involving the Greater Chennai Corporation, the Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department, and the Department of Children Welfare and Special Services, lack transparency, with no periodic status reports available.
“Initiatives such as forming Child Protection Committees in urban and rural areas have largely remained on paper despite government orders,” an activist said.
Another activist noted that while multiple departments have undertaken initiatives, there is no accountability mechanism to monitor progress. “Without an action plan, there is no way to assess outcomes or seek reports,” he said.
The policy envisages addressing issues such as foeticide, child mortality, and morbidity through improved health, nutrition, safe drinking water, and sanitation; preventing the re-victimisation of children within protection systems; and strengthening grassroots bodies, such as village-level and neighbourhood Child Protection Committees.