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NEW DELHI, INDIA, April 21, 2003: Child power is becoming a reality at grassroots level as a unique concept of ‘Bal Panchayat’ or Children’s Council takes shape in different parts of the country. “In the last 50 years, many schemes have been launched for welfare of our children but in almost all the programs, the decision makers were always adults. But in a bid to involve children in their own development process, the concept of ‘Bal Panchayat’ came up,” says Bhagyashri Dengle, joint executive director, Community Aid and Sponsorship Program (CASP), an NGO working for the welfare of children. “The primary objective of these Bal Panchayats is to provide its members an environment conducive to the healthy exchange of ideas and opinions and also serve as a spring board for action,” says S.K. Muttoo, director of the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD). The Bal Panchayat movement has spread from Delhi to Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala. “Children 10- to 17-years old are eligible to join the Bal Panchayats, and every panchayat has its own president. They ask questions about their rights, fight social evils such as child marriage, birth registration, tree plantation, campaign against children’s addiction to tobacco, wage war against social menace like child labor, besides doing many more things,” says Dengle.

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