CARA blames State Government

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, APRIL 28. The Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), a wing of the Union Ministry of Welfare and Social Justice, has found serious flaws in the State Government's monitoring mechanism of the child adoption agencies in Andhra Pradesh.

``We only give licences to child adoption agencies and it is the job of the State Governments to monitor the activities of such organisations,'' the CARA Director, Ms. Andal Damodharan, said here on Saturday. These licences, too, she said, were issued solely on the recommendations of the State Government. She was speaking to newsmen after visiting `Sishu Vihar,' where the ``rescued'' babies from various licensed and unlicensed orphanages were housed. The CARA Director on her visit to Andhra Pradesh after the child adoption racket was unearthed also went to the Niloufer Hospital where some of the ``rescued'' babies were convalescing.

Contesting the accusation that CARA was careless in issuing licences to adoption agencies, she said: ``We are not in a position to crosscheck documents sitting in Delhi.'' She said the agency had not received a ``single note'' from the Voluntary Adoptions Coordinating Associations (VACA), a nodal body of the adoption agencies in the State, here.

``An active VACA should be coordinating with all the adoption agencies and scout for prospective Indian foster parents. The State Government has to have an adoption advisory committee which has not been constituted,'' she charged.

But, Ms. Damodharan hastened to add that she did not want to trade charges with the State Government but wanted to work with the Women and Child Welfare Department to get into the root of the matter and take action against the wrongdoers. ``We will definitely take action and will cooperate with the investigating agencies,'' she said.

``The situation is sad because it is a repetition of what had happened two years ago here,'' she said, squarely blaming the unscrupulous elements involved in the large scale merchandise of infants.

The immediate priority was to punish the guilty and ensure that the babies were returned to the biological parents. In case the parents did not accept them, the children should be given for adoption for Indian parents as there was a ``long list of childless couples waiting to adopt in the urban areas.''

Allegations refuted

Meanwhile, two child adoption agencies based in the city refuted allegations on their involvement in the illegal procurement of the babies, and asserted that they were functioning with the necessary approvals from the Central and State Governments.

The Archbishop of Hyderabad, Most. Rev. Marampudi Joji, in a press release here said that he was shocked to see the ``damaging reports'' on the Tender Loving Care Home being run by the Jesus Mary and Joseph Sisters, which was a project for the abandoned and unwanted children.

``The accusations made against our institution are baseless and done out of sheer jealousy. Our religious personnel never indulge in illegal procurement of children and adoption in India and abroad,'' he said, and challenged any official or responsible person to inspect the records.

He appealed to the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, to differentiate between the institutions run by various NGOs ``without taking each of them on an equal basis.''

In a separate press release, the Indian Council of Social Welfare said that it processed adoption cases as per the CARA guidelines and had not violated any of them. It said the ICSW was processing a request made by `Precious Moments' to child adoption to parents within the country and those abroad, and the said agency was ``recognised'' by the State Government.

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