The Gazetteers Department

Organisation: The Department of Social Welfare was formed in 1957, after amalgamating the offices of the Director of Backward Class Welfare and the Chief Inspector of Certified Schools.

At the Slate level, the department is controlled by the Ministry of Social Welfare and Cultural Affairs. The office of the Directorate of Social Welfare has been divided into two wings, one dealing with backward class welfare and the other dealing with correctional work and the work relating to the welfare of women under the social and moral hygiene programme and of the physically handicapped. In the Correctional Wing. the Director of Social Welfare is assisted by the Deputy Director of Social Welfare (Correctional Administration) who is also ex-officio Chief Inspector of Certified Schools and Chief Inspector of Certified Institutions. There are three Assistant Directors of Social Welfare each in charge of childrens' work, beggars" work and plan work, respectively. There is also a Probation Superintendent of the rank of Assistant Director who looks after the work under the Probation of Offenders Act. There is also a small unit of inspectorate staff working under the Chief Inspector.

At the divisional level, the department has regional officers called the Divisional Social Welfare Officers each posted at the headquarters of the revenue division. They are entrusted with administrative and supervisory work relating to all the subjects handled by the Directorate of Social Welfare. For correctional and allied work they have been given the assistance of an Inspector of Certified Schools. Since the formation of the Zilla Parishad, their services are transferred to the Zilla Parishad.

At the district level, the Correctional Wing has no elaborate administrative machinery save superintendents of the institutions posted in the districts wherever there are institutions. The District Social Welfare Officer is primarily responsible for the welfare of Backward Classes.

The Correctional Administration Wing is responsible for the implementation of the Bombay Children Act, 1948, which is applicable throughout the State.

Children Act: Broadly speaking, this Act provides for the protection of destitute, neglected and victimised children below the age of lb and seeks reformation of delinquent children through training provided in remand homes and certified schools.

The Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959, deals with the problem of elimination of beggary. It is, however, not applicable throughout the State but only to the cities of Bombay and Pune. The Bombay Probation of Offenders Act, 1938, provides for the probation of offenders in lieu of jail punishment in suitable cases recommended by the probation officers appointed by this department under the Act. Its jurisdiction extends over the districts of western Maharashtra only. The Central Provinces and Berar Probation of Offenders Act, 1936, is applicable to the eight districts of the Vidarbha region. The Central Provinces and Berar Probation of Offenders Act, 1958, is applicable to 4 districts in the Aurangabad Division. The Bombay Habitual Offenders Restriction Act, 1959, is applicable to western Maharashtra only and deals with the prevention of crime and treatment of offenders. Such habitual offenders are sent to industrial and agricultural settlements for their rehabilitation in appropriate cases. The Bombay Borstal Schools Act, 1929, is applicable to western Maharashtra and deals with offenders between the ages of 16 and 21 committed to the Borstal School, Kolhapur. The provisions of the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act, 1956, are implemented by the Police Department. However, the Department of Social Welfare is responsible for starting the protective homes and supervising the administration of these homes, provided for in the Act. For this purpose the Chief Inspector of Certified Schools acts as the Chief Inspector of the Protective Homes. At present, there is only one such home at Chembur, Bombay. The Women's and Children's Institutions Licensing Act, 1956, is an all India legislation providing for the licensing of institutions opened by voluntary agencies for the benefit of women and children. For the inspection and supervision of such institutions a Woman Inspector is appointed, while the Director of Social Welfare is the licensing authority.

After-care Programme: Besides these social legislations with which this department is actively concerned, the Directorate of Social Welfare has undertaken the following after-care programmes pertaining to the welfare of children and women.

The Maharashtra State Probation and After-Care Association is a federal body devoted to the care and after-care programmes relating to children wherever the Bombay Children Act has been applied. Remand homes are sponsored by the District Probation and After-Care Associations which are affiliated to this body. In the after-care field the association maintains after-care hostels for boys and girls released from certified schools.

Social and Moral Hygiene Programme: The object of the social and moral hygiene programme, sponsord by the Contral Social Welfare Board, is to take care of women's welfare. It envisages the opening of reception centres and State homes for women either released from the correctional institutions or seeking shelter on reference. Eight reception centres and three Slate homes have been functioning in the State of Maharashtra for girls and women who are in moral danger, destitute or deserted women or women released from institutions sponsored by the Central Social Welfare Board or needing shelter and help.

The department is also in charge of work relating to the education and rehabilitation of the physically handicapped. At the headquarters, the work is organised by an officer designated as the Deputy Director (Education) for the rehabilitation of the physically handicapped. The Department runs schools for the various categories of the handicapped and also sheltered workshops for their sake. It also conducts homes for crippled children for their treatment and education. It also aids voluntary agencies doing work in this field. The Deputy Director (ERH) is assisted by 4 Inspectors in this work.

The department also accords grants to dance, drama and music institutions and also to other social welfare institutions such as rescue homes, mahila manadals, akhadas, kustigir parishads, Bharat Sevak Samaj, etc. As a preventive measure juvenile guidance centres have been organised in localities which are the breeding places of delinquency. In order to promote proper community living among the youths, youth clubs have been organised.

Remand Home: A Remand home has been functioning at Akola for the reception of children coming under the purview of the Bombay Children Act under the management of the District Probation and After-Care Association, Akola, which receives grant-in-aid on account of the expenditure thereof. Following are the social institutions functioning in Akola district under the control of the Government.

(1) Remand Home, Akola, and (2) Government School for the Deaf and Dumb, Akola.

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