Five children from Tamil Nadu were given in adoption to five foreign couples violating adoption norms with the help of NGO Guild of Service (GoS), in Chennai.
The state social welfare department has decided to revoke GoS’ licence. It was found to have given 202 children in adoption, including 54 to foreign countries, during 2006-10. And it was found to have received huge sums as donations.
According to the inspection committee report, available with DC, the NRI couples were given children without getting the mandatory ‘no-objection’ certificate from the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), the apex body to authorise adoption.
The committee found that GoS has fudged records and even marked attendance for a dead child. “A plethora of discrepancies were found in these (attendance) records,” says the report.
In the case of Vignesh (names changed), he was found admitted to GoS in February 2004. Though his records are missing, the placement record shows that he was adopted by a couple in Georgia, US. As per the GoS admission register, Charan and Naveena, admitted in July-end 2007, were marked present in the attendance register even after they had left India.
In five cases, children were placed with NRI parents without NOC from CARA. “The GoS NGO has maintained four different bank accounts, which are related to adoption placements. And the NGO has received Rs 1,79,84,758 as donations during 2007-08,” says the report.
The committee has asked the government to probe the violations through an independent audit screening team.