The State Bal Bhavan Society has framed Cadre and Recruitment (C&R) rules to regularise the staff of Bal Bhavan in 30 districts. It will also appoint 3 special officers to monitor the functioning of Bal Bhavans across the state.
State Bal Bhavan Society Chairperson Chikkamma Basavaraj said on Wednesday that each Bal Bhavan has a programme assistant and a coordinator, appointed on a contract basis. As they get paid less, many leave in between, thus affecting activities of Bal Bhavans, she added.
Talking to media persons, she said that to overcome the problem, a proposal to regularise the services of the staff has been submitted to the government, which is likely to be approved shortly.
This will cost the government close to Rs 2.68 crore annually, she added.
Online classes on different subjects are being conducted to engage students from rural areas during the Covid-19 pandemic. Dakshina Kannada district has seen 42 online sessions. The Women and Child Development department was asked to identify land in taluk centres to set up Bal Bhavan at taluk level to engage students from remote areas.
Taluk-level Bal Bhavans have been set up in 11 taluks in the state as of now. If the land is identified, measures will be initiated to set up Bal Bhavans in all the taluks in Dakshina Kannada district.
Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, offline activities in Bal Bhavan remained suspended since last March. The government is yet to chalk out plans to restart the activities during the year.
Chikkamma said the government had released Rs 10 crore for the activities of Bal Bhavan Society in previous year. “This year we have proposed an action plan for Rs 17 crore.”
Bal Bhavan in Mangaluru had been organising summer camp, Kalasri camp, weekend activities and Balasri award camps to unearth hidden talents in children.
The Bal Bhavan through Women and Child Development department has submitted a proposal of Rs 25 lakh to repair its building, compound wall and renovate the play area at Bal Bhavan in Kadri to Mangaluru Smart City Limited. When the contractor in-charge of maintenance of Bala Mangala Express of Bal Bhavan at Kadri Park, highlighted the uneven track of the toy, the Chairperson directed officials to submit a proposal on setting the track on level path.