 bill no 14 of 2018 the  prevention  of  begging  bill,  2018 by shri sunil kumar singh, mp a billto provide for prevention of begging and for matters connected therewith or incidental theretobe it enacted by parliament in the sixty-ninth year of  the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the prevention of begging act, 2018(2) it extends to the whole of indiashort title, extent and commencement5(3) it shall come into force with immediate effect2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—definitions(a) "appropriate government" means in the case of a state, the government ofthat state and in all other cases, the central government;(b) "begger" means a person who indulges in begging; (c) "begging" means:—(i) soliciting alms in a public place, including railway stations, bus stops, road sides and public transport, by invoking compassion; and5(ii) entering in any private premises for the purpose of soliciting or receiving alms; (d) "fund" means beggars' welfare fund established under section 6; and10(e) "rehabilitation centre" means a centre established under this act where any person taken into custody on the ground of begging shall be kept till the time he is rehabilitated3 begging by any person in any manner is hereby abolishedabolition ofbegging punishment for forced begging4 whoever forces or encourages any person, including a child in his care, custody or charge, for begging or whoever uses any person as an exhibit for the purpose of begging, shall, in the first instance, be warned of indulging in such activities and if he indulges inspite of the warning be punished with a fine of rupees five thousand155 (1) any person found begging shall be arrested by the policearrest of persons found begging, etc(2) any person so arrested shall be sent to a rehabilitation centre, to be established inevery district by the appropriate government, wherein such person shall be provided with facilities for his rehabilitation in such manner as may be prescribed20beggars' welfare fund6 (1) the central government shall constitute a fund to be called the beggars'welfare fund for the welfare of the beggars(2) the fund shall be utilised by the central government as and when required for thewelfare and rehabilitation of beggars257 (1) the appropriate government shall formulate such schemes, work out suchplans, including plans for provision of education, and create suitable infrastructure in every district so as to enable beggars to take up suitable jobs for earning their livelihoodformulation of schemes and plans for beggars, etc(2) the appropriate government shall set up destitute homes for providing food,shelter and protection, to the old, infirm, helpless and destitute persons so as to discourage them from indulging in begging30power to make rules8 (1) the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, make rulesfor carrying out the purposes of this act35(2) every rule made under this act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made,before each house of parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions, aforesaid, both houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both the houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have affect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule statement  of  objects  and  reasonsdespite all efforts made and welfare measures taken by the central government and the state governments, the practice of begging continues unabated all over the country, especially in the metropolitan cities and urban areas there are organised gangs who exploit innocent children and force them into begging not for the sustenance of these boys and girls but for gathering alms for the gang leaders and organizers some people kidnap children and force them to go for begging and collect huge amount of moneythe number of beggars in the country has increased manifold as per an estimate the number is somewhere around fifty lakhswhile, the old and infirm beggars can be sent to destitute homes, the other beggars should be given education and training so that they can get gainful employmenttherefore, it is high time that a law for prevention of begging be enacted hence this billnew delhi;sunil kumar singhjanuary 1, 2018 financial  memorandumclause 5 of the bill provides for establishment of "rehabilitation centres" in every district by the appropriate government clause 6 provides for setting up of beggars' welfare fund clause 7 provides for formulation of schemes and creating suitable infrastructure by appropriate government in every district so as to enable beggars to take up suitable jobs it further provides for setting up of destitute homes by the appropriate government the bill, therefore, if enacted, will involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is likely to involve a recurring expenditure of about rupees five hundred crore per annuma non-recurring expenditure of about rupees one hundred crore is also likely to be involved memorandum  regarding  delegated  legislationclause 8 empowers the central government to make rules for carrying out the provisions of the bill as the rules will relate to matters of details only, the delegation of legislative power is of normal character———— a billto provide for prevention of begging and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto————(shri sunil kumar singh, mp)gmgipmrnd—3645ls(s3)—20-01-2018