Delayed Constitutions of Child Welfare Committees in Tamil Nadu Districts Strain Existing Committees

A prolonged delay in establishing Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) in certain districts of Tamil Nadu has raised concerns among child rights activists and officials. Some of these districts are new and have yet to establish a committee, while others have vacancies due to the previous committee’s tenure ending. The districts without functioning CWCs include Chennai Central, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Myladuthurai, Ranipet, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, and Tirupattur.

The workload has fallen on neighboring districts’ CWCs, leading to travel challenges and reduced attention to cases. With inadequate resources, both CWCs and Probation Officers struggle to provide effective protection services. Delays have been attributed to changes in the selection process, which is being adapted to meet Juvenile Justice Act model rules. Officials are working on amending the rules to establish a State-level selection committee for the CWC constitution.