To make Delhi a beggar-free city, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s Social Welfare Department will be launching an initiative by July-end to provide shelter and a rehabilitation plan for panhandlers.

Officials in the department said that the plan is almost ready and beggars will be removed from the streets starting this month.

“The move is aimed at improving the image of Delhi. With growing tourism, many beggars squat around tourists sites and there have been several instances where foreign tourists were harassed by these beggars,” said a senior government official.

In the first phase, the campaign will be taken up in the New Delhi constituency.

Social Welfare Minister Sandeep Kumar will kick start the campaign from Connaught Place.

“Along with the Delhi Police, seven teams have been formed and they will take the beggars the shelters,” said the official. Giving details about the implementation of the plan, the official said that each team will videograph the eviction of beggars and they will then be taken to mobile courts for trial.

“We found that the beggars were let off by the courts as there was lack of evidence to prove that they beg on streets,” he said.

In 2009, two mobile courts for the trial of beggars were opened in order to make Delhi a beggar-free city before the Commonwealth Games. There are around 25 vans already operational in Delhi and engaged in the work of catching beggars. These vans produce the caught beggars before the Metropolitan Magistrate in Kingsway Camp from where they are sent to different Beggars’ Home.

At present, there are 11 Beggars’ Home in Delhi with a combined capacity of lodging 3,000 beggars.

As per the department’s estimate, there are 75,000 beggars in Delhi with 30 per cent of them below the age of 18 years and around 40 per cent are females.

For the rehabilitation of the beggars, training will be given at Beggars’ Home in Lampur, north-west Delhi.

“We are still working on the rehabilitation plan,” said the official. The department has already identified an NGO, which will provide tailoring and knitting classes to women beggars.