CONCLUSION

As the world’s largest, and youngest, democracy, India needs to acknowledge her children
and youth as active citizens. . Appropriate measures are needed to protect the basic rights of
children and fulfil their needs for growth and development. This is particularly true in the
case of urban children, since India is urbanising at a fast pace and children form almost 30%
of her total urban population. However, the concerns and voices of children have more or less
remained out of the precincts of urban policy-making. With the growing focus on the
development of urban areas, it is an opportune time for the country’s urban planners and
administrators to find ways to make our cities child-friendly, which essentially means that the
current processes of urban planning and policy-making needs to be more inclusive and
representative. It is this urgent need that this report articulates. A child-friendly city or
institution has to respond to the needs of the children located at the lowest rung of socio-
economic development, more than anyone else. Key indicators of child development are the
proportion of children reaching their first or fifth birthday, children going to school and those
gaining access to improved sanitation. Historically, while assessing the well-being of children
based on certain parameters, we find that those living in urban areas tend to fare better than
their rural counterparts in terms of many of these indicators. Yet, we need to recognise that
within urban India, there are vast inequities of wealth and opportunity. Thus, within the urban
averages, there are the hidden stories of large numbers of vulnerable children living on/of the
streets and in the slums. For these children, the experience of deprivation and vulnerability is
no less than that of children in the rural areas. Our analysis also shows that the numbers of
these vulnerable children is increasing in the cities, which will eventually turn our cities into
hotbeds of child poverty.

The analysis shows the struggles faced by this section of urban children. At the outset, poor
access to quality health services especially to Iron Folic Acid tablets, institutional deliveries
and immunisation, threatens their survival. As they grow, they do not receive appropriate
nutrition thus falling prey to various diseases and infections. Many lose their lives even
before turning two. Those who survive beyond infancy are forced to live in unhygienic
conditions, where access to basic services such as clean water, toilets and playgrounds is poor
and cleanliness of surroundings and air quality is lacking.

Schooling is yet another important issue. Most publicly funded urban schools do not have
pre-school education facilities. Educational facilities in cities are growing slowly. There is
total absence of sensitivity to the requirements of menstruating girls in urban schools. Refusal
by schools to give admission to migrant children in the absence of age proof is another issue.
Together, these barriers ensure that the access of vulnerable children, especially girls and
migrant children, to school education is seriously hampered.

And issues like child labour where they are made to work at lower wage rates and deprived of
education and their childhood where they are supposed to enjoy, learn and explore their
potentials. Many such major issues regarding their protection like child trafficking, substance
abuse, child marriage, child abuse, child sexual abuse, problems regarding proper
environment for a healthy and safe livelihood. Track and identify vulnerable children in
slums and build an evidence-based plan for addressing child protection needs. • Training to
track vulnerable children at ward-level child protection committees to help combat child
trafficking, and child labour: These committees can also inform special juvenile police units
and CWCs to ensure their safety

There is the need to develop clarity in the role of key stakeholders in urban resilience
planning and execution at the national, state and local levels. • A vulnerability-based
approach to risk, resilience and adaptation needs to be child-centred. DRR action plans for
‘make my city resilient’ and climate action plans need to incorporate this approach and make
it work for children in urban locations. • Deprivation, disruption and disasters are the
manifestation that compound poverty and risk. Without addressing these with assured
delivery of finances to the most vulnerable will degrade progress thus multiplying risks.
Future investment must consider this as a ‘conditio sine qua non’ for ensuring the safety and
progress of future leadership. • The government’s new initiatives such as the Smart Cities
Scheme must embrace a risk-sensitive approach with children at the centre of the approach
and investment. Technology must be incorporated to address risk drivers. Further, innovative
family tracing and reunification platforms and mechanisms for separated, unaccompanied and
orphaned children need to be put in place in the urban agenda.