NEW DELHI: The poor may now prefer to shift to beggar homes rather than fight hunger and diseases in their dilapidated houses as the Supreme Court ordered states and UTs on Friday to ensure dignified living conditions in beggar homes along with periodic health check up of inmates by doctors and dieticians to ensure hygienic and nutritious food.After finding from an inspection report of beggar homes in Delhi that they are faring well on human indices except for regular visit by dieticians, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan issued a slew of directions to make beggar homes a dream place to stay for those without a roof over their head. “Every individual admitted to a beggars’ home shall mandatorily undergo a medical screening by a qualified medical officer within 24 hours of admission; monthly health check-ups shall be conducted for all inmates by a designated medical team. A disease surveillance and early warning system shall be established in all beggars’ homes, with special protocols for the prevention, detection, and containment of communicable and waterborne diseases,” the bench ordered.It ordered that occupancy of beggars’ homes would not exceed its capacity and these shelters must qualify as safe houses with adequate ventilation, access to open spaces and consistent with human dignity. To ensure nutritious food to each inmate, the bench said, “Every beggars’ home shall appoint, or designate from an associated govt hospital, a qualified dietician to regularly verify the quality and nutritional standards of food served to inmates: and, standardised dietary protocols shall be framed, ensuring nutritional adequacy.”In addition, the SC directed the states and UTs to provide vocational training to inmates of beggar homes aimed at skill development to ensure self-reliance. Govts shall explore partnership with govt agencies, NGOs and private institutions to introduce diverse trades and employment-oriented training programmes and monitor effectiveness of the rehabilitation initiatives for the integration into the society.Women inmates shall be provided privacy, safety and access to childcare education and counselling, it said, and directed the Centre to frame within three months model guidelines to facilitate uniform implementation by states of the SC-dictated guidelines.
