MADHYA PRADESH: INDORE'S BATTLE AGAINST BEGGING

Indore, seven-time winner of India's cleanest city honour, has in the past year been on another clean-up mission—eliminating beggary. Launched in February 2024, the anti-begging initiative has shown promising results, offering a model that could potentially be replicated nationwide. Spearheaded by the district administration and the women and child development (WCD) department, it is a three-phase programme that combines counselling, rescue and enforcement.

- By Rahul Noronha

In the first phase, WCD officials counselled 3,500 beggars and their families—children in the case of elderly beggars and parents in the case of minors—advising them to give up begging. The second phase involved rescue and rehabilitation. Those who persisted despite counselling were taken to the Sewa Dham Ashram in the city. Here, they received medical care besides Aadhaar and Ayushman Bharat health insurance cards, as well as food coupons. Physically challenged beggars without family support were offered permanent residence at the ashram. By December 2024, 470 individuals had been rescued and rehabilitated.