Suhani Khan
Children enter India’s child care institutions every year, yet many continue to face overcrowding, staff shortages and gaps in rehabilitation. For children in conflict with the law, rehabilitation is especially important because the juvenile justice system is meant to support reintegration rather than simply punish them. Delhi’s proposed rehabilitation complex in Alipur could be an important step in that direction. But can a modern facility solve problems that have existed within the system for years?
Seven months after Delhi first announced the plan, the 8-acre facility in Alipur is moving from proposal to reality. Announced in January 2026, the project is expected to accommodate up to 700 children in conflict with the law and provide education, skill development, counselling, sports and behavioural reform facilities (Tyagi, 2026; The Hindu, 2026). Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has described it as a space where children can have a safe and dignified environment while receiving opportunities for reform (The Hindu, 2026).
The facility will accommodate children awaiting Juvenile Justice Board hearings as well as those already adjudicated, bringing services currently spread across older homes into one location (The Hindu, 2026). This is a significant investment in infrastructure. But if staffing shortages, case delays and weak monitoring continue, some of the problems of the existing system could simply move into a new building.
The Unresolved Crisis
The problem extends beyond Delhi. The 2025 India Justice Report found that 9,907 children were in residential facilities during 2022-23, with 83% in Observation Homes (India Justice Report, 2025). The report also found that 92% of India’s 765 districts had constituted Juvenile Justice Boards, but one in four JJBs did not have a full bench. Among 362 JJBs that provided data, 100,904 cases were handled between November 2022 and October 2023, of which only 45,097 were disposed of (India Justice Report, 2025).
These figures show that the challenge is not only the condition of residential facilities. When cases take longer to progress, children can spend longer periods within the institutional system. A better building cannot, by itself, solve those delays.
Why Infrastructure Alone Is Not Enough
Rehabilitation depends on more than buildings. Children need consistent interaction with trained adults, individual care planning, counselling and support to return to their families and communities.
The KAVAL programme in Kerala offers one example. It combines psychosocial intervention, Individual Care Plans and community-based follow-up, with recidivism among participants reported to have fallen from 13% to 5.1% (Kerala Department of Women and Child Development, 2020). Its experience highlights the importance of sustained human support rather than infrastructure alone.
Probation services are another important link between institutional care and rehabilitation in the community. However, the India Justice Report found that responding states together reported well under 200 Legal-cum-Probation Officers nationally, against a combined caseload running into the tens of thousands. In Delhi, officers were reported to be handling more than 800 cases on average, while Odisha’s LCPOs averaged 380 cases each (India Justice Report, 2025). With such caseloads, meaningful individual care planning and follow-up become difficult.
Monitoring and Aftercare
Monitoring also needs to be strengthened. The NCPCR introduced the MASI application for inspections of Child Care Institutions, while the Baal Swaraj portal was developed to improve tracking and information management (OpenGov Asia, 2023). By July 2023, 4,268 inspections had been completed through MASI across 32 states and Union Territories. The India Justice Report also found gaps in physical inspections by JJBs: across 14 states and Jammu & Kashmir, 810 visits were evidenced against 1,992 mandated monthly inspections (India Justice Report, 2025). Technology can improve accountability, but only if problems identified through monitoring lead to action.
Rehabilitation also cannot end when a child leaves institutional care. Section 46 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 provides for aftercare, while Section 39 deals with rehabilitation and social reintegration. A Kerala study found that fake addresses provided by former residents made it difficult for authorities to maintain contact after discharge (Kerala Social Justice Department, 2018). For Delhi, aftercare should therefore be planned before discharge, with support for education, vocational training, family reintegration and psychosocial needs.
What Would Make Alipur Different?
For Alipur to succeed, three things matter: adequate staffing, so that the planned services can actually be delivered; consistent monitoring, using tools such as MASI and Baal Swaraj alongside regular inspections; and meaningful aftercare, so children are not left without support once they leave the institution. Most importantly, success should be measured by outcomes such as education, rehabilitation, reintegration and reduced reoffending, rather than simply by the completion of the building.
A Building Alone Cannot Deliver Justice
The Alipur complex gives Delhi an opportunity to improve how it responds to children in conflict with the law. Better infrastructure can create a safer and more supportive environment, but it cannot substitute for trained staff, effective monitoring and continued support.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 already places rehabilitation and social reintegration within the legal framework. The challenge is making those principles work in practice.
The success of Alipur should ultimately not be judged by how modern the facility looks, but by what happens to the children who pass through it. That is where rehabilitation really begins.
References
The Hindu. (2026, August 4). Delhi to set up modern housing facility for children in conflict with law. The Hindu.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/delhi-plans-8-acre-facility-to-house-reform-700-children-in-conflict-with-law/article71302349.ece
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. No. 2 of 2016, India Code.
https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/2156
Kerala Department of Women and Child Development. (2020). KAVAL: Psychosocial Care for Children in Conflict with Law.
https://wcd.kerala.gov.in/
India Justice Report. (2025). Juvenile Justice and Children in Conflict with the Law: A Study of Capacity at the Frontlines.
https://indiajusticereport.org/files/IJR_JJ%202025_Main%20Report_.pdf
Tyagi, V. (2026, January 30). CM Rekha Gupta’s Delhi government set to build rehab and reform centre for juveniles in Alipur; what facilities will be provided? DNA India.
https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-cm-rekha-gupta-s-delhi-government-set-to-built-rehab-and-reform-centre-for-juveniles-in-alipur-what-facilities-will-be-provided-3198730
OpenGov Asia. (2023, August 3). India: Digital Innovations for Child Welfare.
https://archive.opengovasia.com/2023/08/03/india-digital-innovations-for-child-welfare/
Kerala Social Justice Department. (2018). Study on Social Life of Ex-Residents of Government Juvenile Justice Institutions in Kerala.
https://swd.kerala.gov.in/knowus.php
About the Contributor: Suhani Khan is a Public Policy Youth Fellow (Cohort 2.0) at IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute. She is pursuing a Bachelor’s in Social Work at Jamia Millia Islamia, with a keen research interest in child welfare, juvenile justice implementation gaps and the effectiveness of child protection mechanisms in India.
Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.
Read more at IMPRI:
Mainstreaming ESG in India’s Industrial Policy: Transitioning from Compliance to Strategic Growth
The Supreme Court Just Caught AI Faking Precedents. The Harder Problem Is What It Cannot Catch.
Acknowledgement: This article was posted by Vishal Kumar, a Research and Editorial Intern at IMPRI.
