90% success in resolving matters reported through child helpline
Shillong, Oct 14:The state government has sought ₹600 crore from the Centre to improve the overall functioning of Social Welfare department by optimising the services and ensuring welfare of employees among other aspects to be taken care of.
“While some matters will be taken up in the state cabinet, others are related to five ministries concerned with the state’s Social Welfare department,” said Paul Lyngdoh, minister for Social Welfare, while informing about the assistance sought from Centre following a review of functioning and financial status of the department.
The meeting discussed the necessary interventions that could be initiated by the state government and the ministries concerned to enhance performance of the department.
“We have projected (to the Centre) a deficit of about Rs 600 crore,” Lyngdoh said.
Among other things, the minister said, there is a need for improving service conditions of the employees many of whom are on contractual staff.
Appreciating the hard work put in by contractual employees in running affairs of the department, the minister assured of trying to enhance their facilities.
He also reviewed the functioning of women and child helplines at Directorate of Social Welfare.
“We have highly tech savvy young boys and girls handling cases round the clock,” he said.
Three persons attend the helplines at a time in three 8-hour shifts. They handle various queries including calls from children or women seeking accommodation in the middle of night, Lyngdoh said.
“When such calls come, they have to be picked up by woman helpers or woman police… we make sure that male police do not handle such cases because of the sensitivity of the matter,” he said.
Claiming 90% success in resolving matters corresponded through such calls in the child helpline cell, he said, “Various districts are updated round the clock in the dashboard and this information will also now be integrated with my office in the Secretariat so that the information keeps flowing minute by minute.”
He also lauded the positive spirit among the young men and women, motivating them to work tirelessly to render prompt service to the society, especially women in cases of domestic violence.
