Govt silent on pending adoption cases at Preet Mandir

 Govt silent on pending adoption cases at Preet Mandir

 Expedite the process on humanitarian grounds, plead adoption experts

 Bhagyashree Kulthe

Even as the Central Adoption Resource Authority (Cara) has refused to comment on the stalled adoption process of 17 orphans from Preet Mandir, yet another adoption expert has stressed that it is not advisable to shift the children to another adoption agency.
The New Delhi-based Cara, which is the apex government body on adoption issues, has refused to issue No Objection Certificates (NOC) in these 17 cases of inter-country adoption, unless the children are moved to another agency.
This action is the fallout of the revocation of Preet Mandir's inter-country adoption licence in May after the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) latest round of investigations into alleged malpractices in Preet Mandir. While Cara wanted the children be moved to another agency to clear the way for adoption, the Bombay high court issued a stay on the transfer.
Cara's deputy director, Jagannath Pati, refused to comment on the issue when approached by DNA.
As reported by this newspaper on Tuesday (17 orphans suffer silently as adoptions halt at Preet Mandir, September 28), adoption experts have expressed concern that such delays can have an emotionally disastrous impact on these children.
City-based adoption expert, Jyoti Ronghe, told DNA that she has received emails from some of the adoptive parents expressing agony over the delays.
On Tuesday, Lata Joshi, former executive director of Bharatiya Samaj Seva Kendra, Pune (BSSK) told DNA that shifting the children from Preet Mandir to another adoption agency, as suggested by Cara, can be traumatising for the children.
While upholding the need for scrutiny of the pending cases, she stressed that the government and the law needs to speed up the process in the larger interest of the children.
Joshi, who runs an informal support group, Anuj, for adoptees and adoptive parents in India and overseas, has vast experience in child welfare and adoption. "The children should be counselled and proper care provided till the case is resolved. The children are not being considered in the entire legal process. It is difficult for a child to adjust to a new environment with new people when they are shifted to another agency," she said, adding that  disturbing the life of the children is not advisable.
The veteran adoption expert emphasised that the welfare of the children should come first while deciding their case. "Their entire future is in the hands of the authorities, the government and the adoption agency," she said.
Joshi said a review of the cases in the pipeline is important and this should be done while the children remain at Preet Mandir. "However, the authorities concerned should speed up the process," she said.
She regretted that the children had become victims of the corrupt system. "The local authorities are responsible for proper scrutiny before forwarding the proposals for the NOC to Cara. Because the entire system responsible for adoption is now under the scanner, it is the children and the adoptive parents who are forced to suffer," she said.
The senior adoption expert stressed on the need for proper counselling for the children. "Just providing food and clothing is not enough. Their emotional needs have to be considered. An expert in child welfare and care needs to counsel the children," she said.The HC has stayed transfer of children from Preet Mandir