Close to International Labour Day on May 1, the state government told Bombay High Court that it would make an action plan to put a stop to employment of children
Close to International Labour Day on May 1, the state government told Bombay High Court that it would make an action plan to put a stop to employment of children by the end of 2008 and eliminate child labour by 2010.
Yashada, the state administrative training institute in Pune, will prepare the action plan. According to the affidavit filed by government labour officer Vishwas Jadhav, “The action plan proposes periodical surveys, public awareness, education rehabilitation, special funds for children with special needs such as domestic child labourers, street children and migrant labourers”.
The court had taken suo motu action against child labour after the death of a child working in an embroidery unit of a factory in Mumbai in 2005. Earlier this week, additional public prosecutor Poornima Kantharia submitted the affidavit listing the steps taken by the government to curb child labour.
Jadhav’s affidavit said the government constituted a task force under the chairmanship of the labour commissioner on May 5, 2005. The force, which keeps a check on instances of child labour and took action against those employing children, consists of officers from departments of police, labour, women and child welfare, shop inspectors and NGOs.
Jadhav’s affidavit said the force conducted 87 raids in Mumbai and Thane, as a result of which 2,287 children were rescued and 516 employers were arrested. The children were employed in hand-embroidery, engineering works, leather goods manufacturing, gold and imitation jewellery, readymade garment factories, hotels and bakeries.
The government also constituted task forces at the district level as per its resolution of April 25, 2006. In the rest of the state, 735 raids were conducted, which led to the rescue of 3,089 children and the arrest of 827 employers. Jadhav also told the court that these raids acted as a deterrent to the employment of children, owing to which 23,483 child labourers were sent back to their native places by their employers.
Jadhav added that 22 children employed in juice and food stalls in Vashi were rescued in January 2007 and 43 children were rescued from an umbrella factory in Bhiwandi three months later.
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