Policy to monitor Gurgaon’s day care centres on the cards

The district administration has decided to regulate the day care centres mushrooming in Gurgaon.

In the wake of a recent incident in which a three-year-old lost her thumb in a day care centre, the district administration has decided to regulate such centres that are mushrooming in the city.

A day care owner was booked for negligence after a three-year-old girl’s thumb was severed in an accident. (HT File Photo)

No policy regulates the functioning of day care centres in the state. Moreover, the district administration does not have the figures of such establishments in the city.

“There is no framework or policy to monitor or regulate the functioning of the growing number of day care centres. We will draft a proposal and send it to the government so that a policy is formulated at the earliest,” TL Satyaprakash, deputy commissioner of Gurgaon, said.

There are about 250 day care centres in the city. Most of these centres claim to be equipped with facilities such as CCTV cameras and child friendly environment to provide a secure second home to toddlers while their parents are away at work. However, none of the centres are registered with the district administration in the absence of a regulatory policy.

The discrepancy came to the fore on Tuesday when a day care owner in Gurgaon was booked for negligence after the thumb of a three-year-old girl was severed in an accident.

“The recent incident in which a girl’s thumb was cut was tragic and we will ensure that the institutions taking care of children follow strict safety rules,” TL Satyaprakash said.

In Gurgaon, where mostly both parents are employed, day care centres are the only solace for them when it comes to their children.

“We are taking several steps to ensure the safety and well-being of each child coming to the centre. The centre is connected to a nearby multi-specialty hospital in case of any emergency. There are CCTV cameras everywhere and classrooms are inspected daily to avoid any mishap,” a day care owner said requesting anonymity.

However, parents say they do not trust the day care centres blindly.

“Not all day care centres keep footage of the CCTV cameras or get police verification done. It is difficult for parents to be 100% sure of the safety of our children there,” Sunita Bedi, a parent, said.