Plea challenges govt delay in forming CWC

KOCHI: A petition has been filed before the Kerala high court questioning inaction on the part of the state government in constituting child welfare committee in Ernakulam.
The petition was filed by Seena Johnson, who was shortlisted by the selection committee for the post of committee member. The committee is constituted in each district as per Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, to decide on matters relating to children who are in need of care and protection.
Selection to the post of committee members was conducted on the basis of a notification issued by the government and the selection committee constituted by the government had approved the names of the people to be appointed as members. The matter was then forwarded to the government for issuing appointment orders, the petition said.
After obtaining the concurrence of the finance department, the government had taken steps to appoint the members when assembly elections were declared. The appointments were postponed due to this.
However, a social worker obtained information on the status of the appointments through RTI but crucial documents such as financial concurrence, list of members approved by the selection committee, and government’s sanction for issuing appointment orders were missing, the petitioner alleged.
The earlier committee that was appointed in 2011 for a three-year term is still continuing.