Beggar-free Bengaluru proposal faces opposition from queer organisation

The Movement for Gender and Sexual Pluralism (MGSP) has registered strong opposition to the Karnataka government’s proposal to make Bengaluru “Beggar-Free” by 2027.

The organisation has demanded an immediate decriminalisation of begging by repealing the Karnataka Prohibition of Beggary Act, 1975, a halt to arbitrary or forced removal, detention and rehabilitation of people who seek alms, an end to the targeting, profiling and stigmatisation of transgender people and other marginalised communities, and measures from the government to responsibly address poverty, exclusion and lack of social security that drive people to seek alms.

Calling for a rights-based approach that upholds the dignity, autonomy and constitutional rights of all people living and surviving in the city, a statement from MGSP noted, “We came to know through a newspaper report today that the Karnataka government has announced a three-phase programme of awareness, rescue and rehabilitation, beginning with discouraging citizens from giving alms, followed by rescue operations and rehabilitation in government-run centres. Begging is fundamentally a socio-economic issue shaped by poverty, social exclusion, homelessness, disability, gender identity, lack of social security and limited livelihood opportunities. Treating it primarily as a policing and rescue issue risks surveillance, detention, removal and coercive rehabilitation rather than addressing these underlying conditions.”

The Bengaluru drive is also part of a broader Central initiative. In January 2026, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment identified Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad for a “beggar-free” initiative under the SMILE scheme.

“Social protection and livelihood support must be strengthened, but making cities ‘beggar-free’ cannot mean making poor people invisible or removing them from public spaces. We are particularly concerned by the government’s identification of “begging by transgender persons” as one of the major reasons for the prevalence of begging in Karnataka. This risks stigmatising and profiling transgender people while reducing a structural socio-economic problem to the presence of a marginalised community,” said the statement.

Noting that gender minorities have long faced exclusion from education, employment, housing and social security, MGSP said that the government’s response must be social and economic support, not policing or forced rehabilitation.

“Where alternatives are sought, the State must provide voluntary and accessible housing, healthcare, social security and dignified livelihoods,” it added.

The organisation also called for a clear distinction between adults who voluntarily seek alms for survival and people subjected to trafficking, forced begging or exploitation.