Substantive progress in child protection is possible only when there is consistent collaboration between community and the state instruments and children have a voice and agency in shaping their own and their community’s futures.
In an important initiative to advance child rights and social inclusion, the Centre for Child Rights (CCR) of National Law University Odisha (NLUO) and the university’s flagship community outreach initiative – Project KUTUMB, jointly organised a special Aadhaar enrolment camp on 25February 2026 for children from Balmiki Nagar, Brajabiharipur, and Baba Tilkanagar urban settlements of Ward No. 3, Cuttack Municipal Corporation.
The Special Aadhar Camp was flagged off in the presence of the Commissioner, Cuttack Municipal Corporation, Kirandeep Kaur Sahota, NLUO Vice Chancellor Professor Ved Kumari, Chief Minister’s Chair Professor cum Director, Centre for Child Rights – NLUO, Prof Biraj Swain, Additional District Education Officer, Cuttack, Abhijita Bhaskar, Social Worker – District Child Protection Unit, Cuttack, Congress Rout, and Corporator of Ward No. 3 – CMC, Pradeep Rout. The initiative was led by Dr Swagatika Samal from CCR – NLUO and Dr Akshay Verma, Coordinator – Project KUTUMB and supported by Durbadala Mantry, M Vijay Bhaskar, Pradipta Kumar Sarangi, Ankit Kumar Keshri and Amulya Kumar Swain of CCR-NLUO.
The Camp is part of NLUO’s commitment to creating child-friendly communities per NITI Ayog mandate and the Sustainable Development Goals mandate, and it marks a milestone in Project KUTUMB’s mission to ensure social inclusion of the vulnerable children.
Legal Identity a Gateway to Dignity
Abhijita Bhaskar, Additional District Education Officer, Cuttack, while addressing the gathering, stressed that Aadhaar enrolment strengthens service delivery and that’s why one should be very careful about the kind of information – specifically a functional mobile number – providing during Aadhar enrolment process.
Addressing the audience on the genesis and vision of Project KUTUMB, Prof. Ved Kumari, Vice Chancellor of NLUO and Patron-in-Chief of CCR-NLUO, who conceptualised Project KUTUMB, noted that legal identity is a gateway to dignity, citizenship, and equal opportunity for children. Substantive progress in child protection is possible only when there is consistent collaboration between community and the state instruments and children have a voice and agency in shaping their own and their community’s futures.
Prof. Ved Kumari said: “NLUO is not just an institution to churn out legal professionals, NLUO is also committed to the agenda of justice and enabling the under-privileged children and communities in the neighbourhood for better lives and life-chances, which is a core ambition of Project KUTUMB and NLUO. Children need to be encouraged, and it would make me very happy to see some of you enrol in the NLUO one day.”
The keynote address was delivered by Kirandeep Kaur Sahota, Commissioner, Cuttack Municipal Corporation, who formally flagged off the special Aadhaar camp by enrolling two children from the communities. She emphasised that inclusive urban governance requires proactive outreach to vulnerable populations and lauded NLUO’s sustained commitment to community engagement.
About Project Kutumb
Project Kutumb is NLUO’s flagship outreach programme, implemented with the shared leadership of the CCR. It seeks to transform the urban settlements – Brajabiharipur, Baba Tilkanagar, and Balmiki Nagar into aspirational communities with active citizenship and responsive state mechanisms. The project takes a rights-based and community-driven approach by empowering families, children, and local institutions to take an active role in child welfare and protection. Through a combination of awareness-building, capacity enhancement, needs assessment, and vulnerability mapping, Project KUTUMB, aims to establish sustainable, locally lead child protection systems with long-term impact.
Founded in 2015, the centre for child rights (CCR) is the oldest research, teaching and advocacy centre at NLUO. It is also the second oldest CCR in any NLU in India and the only Chair Professorship on child rights in India. The CCR is committed to advancing child rights through teaching, legal research, policy advocacy, training and community engagement. As one of the key actors of Project KUTUMB, CCR has conducted extensive vulnerability mapping and needs assessments in the adopted settlements to ensure that interventions are data-driven and need-sensitive, keep the best interests of the children front and centre. This is per the NITI Ayog mandated indicators.
