Nabarangpur, 26th Sept 2025: The Nabarangpur District Citizens’ Committee has demanded the appointment of district-level members in the ‘Child Welfare Committee’ functioning under the Women and Child Welfare Department of the Odisha Government. In this regard, a memorandum was submitted on Tuesday to District Collector Dr. Maheswar Swain on the instructions of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. Nabarangpur MLA Gauri Shankar Majhi has been informed about this. It is also reported that a memorandum was presented to MP Balabhadra Majhi and the Chief Secretary of Odisha Government.
The appointment process for the ‘Child Welfare Committee’ under the Women and Child Welfare Department of the Odisha Government for the next three years has started. One chairman and four members will be appointed to this committee. Although applicants from Nabarangpur district are educated and experienced in child welfare and protection, appointments have not been given to them according to the recruitment rules. Instead, candidates from outside the district have already been appointed to these positions. These appointees often do not attend government functions and do not perform their duties sincerely, yet they receive government salaries, as mentioned in the memorandum.
According to Section 29 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, and its 2006 amendment, the Odisha Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2002 (Section 24), the memorandum explains that such committees are formed periodically at the district level to fulfill responsibilities related to the care, protection, medical aid, development, and rehabilitation of children in need. However, due to the appointment of outsiders unfamiliar with the local tribal languages and culture predominant in Nabarangpur, these appointees are not suitably qualified to work in this field, as stated in the memorandum.
For the upcoming appointment of one chairman and four members, a total of 27 applicants have applied, including 18 from Nabarangpur district, 2 from Cuttack, 1 each from Balangir, Dhenkanal, Khordha, Kandhamal, and 3 from Koraput district.
During the celebration of the local festival ‘Mandei’ in Nabarangpur, the Chief Minister announced district-level appointments. Therefore, the memorandum requests that district-level appointments be made in this regard.
While submitting the memorandum, the Citizens’ Committee President Jagannath Mahapatra, Editor Ramprasad Patra, Cooperative Leader Pradeep Kumar Sahu, Swarnalata Pattnayak, Advocate Kishori Pattnayak, and Srinibas Patra discussed the matter with the District Collector.
The District Collector has accepted the memorandum.