On Monday, the Delhi government began a pilot initiative in central Delhi to provide beggars with economic alternatives via training and skill-building to make the city begging-free. According to a survey performed by the Social Welfare Department and the Institute for Human Development in February, there are about 20,719 people involved in the act of begging (PEAB) in Delhi.
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Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam said the government’s goal is to make Delhi begging-free by rehabilitating PEABs. He launched a scheme on ‘Livelihood Support’ via training and skill-building at two centers in the central district. “The Delhi government will give vocational training to people who are begging to help them find work in the mainstream. Because of their social and economic situations, people are obliged to beg. They are society’s most vulnerable group.
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In collaboration with stakeholders such as the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Delhi Police, Health Department, Women and Child Development Department, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, Delhi Commission for Women, Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Directorate of Prohibition, Revenue Department, IHBAS, and community-based organizations, the experiences gained from this exercise will be replicated in all districts in Delhi.
