New Delhi, 16 March: The number of beggars and nomads in the country is four lakh 13 thousand 670, of which the number of child beggars (under 15 years of age) is 45 thousand 296.
Giving this piece of information in written reply to a question asked in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot said that the figures have been given on the basis of the 2011 census.
He said that the central government is running projects in 10 cities to rehabilitate beggars and nomads and improve the standard of living.
Gehlot said that in order to improve the standard of living of children engaged in begging, rehabilitation scheme has been running in ten cities at the ministerial level. These mainly include Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur and Patna cities.
He informed that in these cities, arrangements have also been made to make aware of the beggar children, their rehabilitation, medical facilities, education and skill development. Through this effort, the government is working on a plan to empower the children who roam the streets to earn a living.
