New Delhi More than 1,000 families in Delhi are waiting to adopt a child and data suggests that there are more than 30 lakh orphans in north India. But State Adoption Resource Authority (SARA) informs that Delhi has a three- to four-year waiting list for parents wishing to adopt.

SARA, part of Department of Women and Child Development, recognises 12 adoption agencies.

Gone are those days when childless couples prefer to wait for years for a child rather than going for adoption. Now, such couples are coming out of traditional barriers and opting for adoptions. What is more surprising is that they prefer a girl child to a boy.

In response to a letter petition by HRLN Lawyer Anant Asthana alleging that juveniles are being shown as adults and are being incarcerated into Jails and subsequent discovery of hundreds of juveniles in Tihar Jail in the survey done by teams constituted by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Delhi High Court has issued comprehensive directions to eliminate incarceration of children into jails.