The Centre’s efforts to map and register all Child Care Institutions in the country seem to have been thwarted by 579 homes in the state of Kerala that have contested the requirement in court.Kerala has the most number of child care homes (1,396) that allow for legal adoption, with almost 50,000 children living in them, according to the women and child development ministry.The ministry had stepped up the mapping and registration of the country’s almost 9,000 homes after allegations of illegal adoption from homes run by the Missionaries of Charity in Jharkhand surfaced in June last year.As per figures provided by the ministry in Parliament last week, 7,907 homes had registered so far, while 888 homes are still unregistered, a majority of them in Kerala. In a bid to make child care homes more accountable, the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, mandates the registration of all child care institutions and has laid out strict norms for living conditions in them and inspections by child welfare committees. Ministry officials said the homes in Kerala, many of which are run by NGOs, have approached the state high court for a relaxation in the norms, which may add to their financial burden. The norms include hiring of staff and the size of living space for each child living in the home.“The matter has become sub judice and we cannot take any action till the matter is resolved,” a ministry official said. Other states with a chunk of the unregistered CCIs are Karnataka (115), Andhra Pradesh (78) and J& K (77).