Pune Municipal Corporation Rolls Out Initiative to Educate and Provide Healthcare for Street Children

Pune Municipal Corporation launches a city-wide initiative to bring street children into education and healthcare systems and protect them from exploitation.

Pune,January 30, 2026: The Pune Municipal Corporation has unveiled a comprehensive new initiative aimed at uplifting street children who work or beg at traffic signals and busy junctions, a group that has been increasingly visible across the city and often misses out on basic education, healthcare, and a secure childhood. The initiative, spearheaded by the civic body’s Social Development Department, seeks to identify vulnerable children, remove them from hazardous street environments, and integrate them into education and social welfare programmes over the coming weeks. Street children and those forced into labour or begging are often deprived of essential opportunities, leaving them at risk of exploitation, malnutrition, poor educational outcomes, and long-term poverty; this drive aims to address those deep-rooted issues by replacing street work with schooling and structured support. Under the project, field teams will conduct surveys at major traffic signals, busy junctions and crowded zones to identify children involved in street work, assess their family backgrounds, living conditions and the socio-economic factors that drive them onto the streets, with special focus on cases of coercion or unsafe home environments. Once identified, children will be registered and, where applicable, enrolled in age-appropriate schools in collaboration with non-governmental organisations and educational partners; for those who have never attended school or who dropped out, special learning programmes will be organised to bridge educational gaps and prepare them for mainstream schooling, addressing long-term literacy and development goals.

In addition to education, the initiative places a significant emphasis on healthcare support, providing beneficiaries with regular medical check-ups, vaccinations, nutritional assistance and treatment services aimed at improving overall wellbeing. Poor health and malnutrition are major barriers to education, and interventions such as immunisation and preventive healthcare are expected to create a foundation for healthier childhood development. Children brought under the programme will also be connected with the civic body’s existing shelter and rehabilitation services, such as the Gharat shelter project, which offers safe accommodation, counselling, psychosocial support and pathways to long-term reintegration into society. Officials said that the overarching aim of the initiative is not short-term relief but sustainable solutions that help children break cycles of deprivation and access opportunities for growth and development.

According to PMC officials, the programme will be rolled out in phased stages over the next one to one-and-a-half months, with field visits and assessments forming the initial stage of implementation. The timing of the initiative aligns with broader child welfare efforts at the state and municipal level, including mobile outreach programmes in major cities that provide education, counselling and healthcare services to street children — an approach that has shown early promise in supporting vulnerable populations outside formal school systems. Experts in child development and social policy say such initiatives are critical, especially in rapidly urbanising cities like Pune where economic disparities and migration often push children into informal work, begging or precarious living conditions.

Child welfare advocates emphasise that sustainable reintegration into education and healthcare systems requires multi-stakeholder cooperation, including support from NGOs, educational institutions, health professionals, local communities and law enforcement where necessary. Programmes like this also aim to build awareness among parents and communities about the importance of education, preventing exploitation and ensuring long-term security for children. A successful execution of the project is expected to set an example for other urban local bodies grappling with similar issues in India’s expanding metropolitan centres.

As the Pune Municipal Corporation moves forward with the street children initiative, officials have stressed that the programme reflects a commitment to inclusive urban development and child rights, ensuring that even the city’s most marginalised children have the opportunity to receive education, healthcare and protective support. The impact of this initiative will likely be closely watched by civic authorities and child welfare organisations nationwide, offering a potential model for addressing street children’s needs beyond temporary relief and pushing toward enduring social integration.

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