Activists say T.N. budget made no mention of child protection sector

The Revised Budget Estimates for 2026-27, unveiled on Wednesday by Finance Minister N. Marie Wilson, had no mention of child protection schemes, child rights activists in the State pointed out.

While education and nutrition related schemes involving children saw many announcements from Super Clean Super Campus to anti-drug clubs, modern bicycles, gold ring for babies and special school for children with intellectual disability, child rights activists noted that no announcement regarding child protection were made which involves the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), Juvenile Justice Boards or the Juvenile Homes.

“The TVK government which was voted into power because of children continues to look at children as beneficiaries and not as stakeholders,” said a child rights activist.

Kalpana Sathish, development consultant and researcher noted that in the past five years of the government almost 53% of the allocation for children welfare was done in education and 23% in nutrition while child protection expenditure is skewed. “There was no systemic reform announcement or concerns addressed in this Budget,” she said.

Child rights activist Andrew Sesuraj said, “There was no announcement regarding children-friendly infrastructure in Juvenile Justice Boards or separate funds for SCPCR. The child protection mechanism has now been forgotten,” said

The Tamil Nadu Child Rights Watch in a statement said that while children are increasingly recognised as future innovators and workers, less attention is devoted to their rights to protection, participation and holistic development.

The next phase of budget reform should therefore move from human capital budgeting towards child rights budgeting, where every investment is assessed by its contribution to children’s survival, development, protection and participation, they added.

Kalpana also said that child protection is emerging as a major issue in Tamil Nadu. “There are rising child sexual abuse cases, child marriage, children eloping, migration and others. These need to be addressed. Right now the State is depending on centralised funds and these are not enough for trickle down efforts to take place. There needs to be radical change seen in investing in children,” she said.