TN govt withdraws tender to outsource 1098 Child Helpline

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government and the Department of Children Welfare and Special Services withdrew the tender floated to outsource the 1098 Child Helpline (CHL) and the department has taken a policy decision to run the service by itself.

Meanwhile, to keep the CHL operational at all times, even during natural calamities the officials of the Department of Children Welfare and Special Services are pondering on introducing mobile or cloud-based backend facilities in addition to the usual telecom service that is already in place.

Speaking to DT Next, a higher official of the department said, “It was a policy decision to have the department operate the service. The tender was floated and had a few bidders too, but the government decided to withdraw it.”

Commenting on introducing alternative services, the official added, “During the 2023 floods in Chennai, the helpline suffered a disruption due to inundation. The telecom wires were cut off, halting services. Hence, the discussions are underway on introducing services like mobile or cloud-based backend facilities, which will ensure the service is never disrupted even during natural disasters.”

In July 2023, the State government officially took over CHL as per the Union government’s instruction. During the transition from Childline India Foundation (CIF) to the respective state governments under the Ministry of Child and Women Empowerment, the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), a scientific society, took over the legacy data from CIF.

Subsequently, in March 2023, the Ministry also released the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for operating 1098 under the respective state governments. However, stakeholders from various child welfare activists to field experts with the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) alleged that the SOP was insufficient.

Speaking to DT Next, A Devaneyan, a child rights activist said, “The SOP issued to all states and UTs is based on the 2011 census. Hence, the document has several lapses on multiple factors from fund allocation to persons employed.”

The SOP issued by the Ministry of Child and Women Empowerment stated that the CHL unit at District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) shall consist of one project coordinator and counsellor each. And, 3-4 child helpline supervisors and case workers, all employed on contract.

However, experts stated that the number of persons employed should be solely on the basis of number of cases, traffic and nature of complaints. “Some districts, especially vulnerable districts, will demand more staff than the others. Hence, uniform number of employees will only be detrimental,” the activist added.

Officials and field staff too claimed that the fund allocation and distribution were inadequate. For the population size of 30-60 lakh, Rs 1.50 lakh was allotted as child-related contingency fund including costs for medical, shelter, restoration, nutrition and more. Further, Rs 1.50 lakh for travel expenses/hiring of vehicles, mostly used while rescuing the victim and Rs 80,000 for child help groups at sub-district level and ward-level.

Devaneyan pointed out that Rs 1.50 lakh/year was insufficient for a population like Chennai and most other districts in TN. “The SOP was released sans consultation from experts and calls for revision at the earliest,” he opined.