'Child labour law needs review'

 With the proposed amendments in the child protection law likely to be passed in the monsoon session of the Parliament, social activists are hopeful that implementation and accountability will be amongst the key focus areas while the law is being drafted.

With June 12 being observed as anti-child labour day, activists alleged that lack of enforcement of the Child Labour Act and no rehabilitation has been fueling child labour.

In October, 2006 the government decided to prohibit employment of children as domestic servants or workers in roadside eateries, restaurants, hotels, motels, teashops, resorts, spas and in other recreational centers.

The ban was imposed under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act (CLPR), 1986. The Technical Advisory Committee on Child Labour had then said that children employed in road-side eateries and highway dhabas are the most vulnerable lot, making them an easy prey to sex and drug abuse.

According to the last status report filed by the revenue department of the Delhi government out of the 1,428 child labourers rescued in Delhi, fine from employers have been recovered in only 222 cases.

Also, even after a year, inquiry is pending in 796 cases where no effort for economic rehabilitation of the children were made, claim activists. They fear that children would be trafficked again in such cases.

Implementation figures of the act after six years are discouraging, allege activists.

“Responding to an RTI filed by us, where we had asked for data on implementation of this act, the government could only provide information upto April 2008,” said Rakesh Senger, member Bachpan Bachao Andolan.

The RTI revealed that close to 2.27 lakh inspections had been carried out across India and 730 children were sent to shelter homes and 3,055 children were sent back home.

A total of 2,445 and 535 children were enrolled in National Child Labour Programme and in schools under Sarva Shikha Abhiyaan respectively.

In Delhi, the number of inspections carried out remains as low as 127. No child was sent home, reconciled with parents or enrolled in schools under any of the existing schemes.

According to official estimates over 4.9 million children in India are engaged in some form of labour. Nearly 70 per cent of India’s child labourers work in the agriculture sector.