Even as the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse was observed by Government and private organisations across the State on Thursday, the State Government is still to go a long way to check the child labour problem, feel many.
It is evident from the fact the Government yet to implement its own plan, decided in 2011, in this regard. It had decided to form Child Protection Committees in all villages to prevent children from working as labourers and send them to schools instead. later, the Government decided to set up such committees at the panchayat level, which is yet to be fully implemented.
Such committees, to be headed by Sarapanches, have not been formed in most of the panchayats till date. What’s worse is wherever the body has been set up is not working properly.
While the Child labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 is in force in the State, steps have not been taken to abolish the child labour system, rued volunteers working for child protection.
As per the law, appointment of children less than 14 years of age in 18 occupations and 65 processes has been prohibited. In violation of the Act, there is a provision of jail term from three months to one year along with a fine of upto `20,000.
However, only 198 cases in connection with child labour have been registered in the past five years even after the Government effected few changes in the law in 2006 restricting people to engage children in hotels and other private works. The anti-child labour law is a toothless tiger now, said the volunteers.
Thousands of children are now working as house servants, garage helpers, and hotel cleaners and in small factories under hazardous conditions. Due to negligence of administration, they are yet to be rescued and sent to schools, they said.
According to official data, there were two lakh child labourers working across the State in 1997. But in last Census report, the number touched 3-lakh mark. In reality, the number would be much more than the data, sources said.