Thane: 16 orphaned children get legal parents

Thane: The new year has brought blessings in the form of legal parents for 16 orphaned children from Thane. At an informal event on Tuesday, Thane District Collector Ashok Shingare handed over the children to their new families. Among these were 11 girls, with two of them finding parents in the US. Of the five boys, one will relocate to Italy.

Mr Shingare said, “As per the order of the Children Welfare Committee, orphaned, abandoned and neglected children are admitted to the Children of the Word India Trust in Nerul and Janani Ashish Charitable Trust in Dombivli. Prospective parents have to register themselves on the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) website and make an application to the District Collector.

Mr Shingare said that according to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the Adoption Rules 2022 were framed. Also included in this are inter-relationship and step adoptions.

The adoptions announced by Mr Shingare came before the Bombay Court stayed the amendment of the Act pertaining to transfer of jurisdiction to District Magistrates, who are officials of the rank of Collector. “As per the Act, the cases were heard to me,” he said during his speech.

Calling adoptions “work of humanity”, he said this is a “unique moment in his life”. Out of the 13 domestic adoptions, seven children have found parents in Maharashtra, one each in Orissa, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Gujarat.