Beggars to have hard times in Delhi in coming days

In a bid to spruce up the capital before the Commonwealth Games, the city government is coordinating with neighboring states to deal with the problem of begging.

The Delhi High Court was informed about these steps on Thursday while it was hearing a suo motu case on the issue of begging in Delhi. The government contended before HC that 90% of beggars happen to be immigrants and efforts are being made to repatriate them for which close interaction between officials of other states is the key.

For this purpose, the government said that a meeting of certain states including NCT Delhi, UP, Bihar and Jharkhand was held to draw up a mechanism to send the beggars back. Appearing for the central government, Counsel Jatan Singh submitted before a division bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Ajit Bharihoke that the social welfare ministry had convened a meeting on October 6 which was attended by senior officers from various states. ‘‘A final decision on the issue would be taken at their next meeting,’’ he said.

The bench had pulled up the NCT government for its failure to implement the suggestions of V P Chaudhary, amicus curiae, that the city should have at least mobile courts to dispose of begging-related cases on the spot. The amicus also suggested the government should make efforts to provide skill training in beggars’ homes so that they could be rehabilitated.