Child labour employers to be penalised in Bihar

Patna, Nov 6 (UNI) Taking a tough stand towards rampant child labour in all sectors, the Bihar government today announced to conduct raids and penalise those employers who failed to adhere to its direction.

Accompanied by the secretaries of Welfare department, labour department and education department and state representative of the UNICEF Vijay Raj Bhandari, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi told newspersons here that the state government has launched a ten day awareness drive to sensitise the employers about the implications of engaging children as labourers.

Apart from motels, dhabas and other sectors a large chunk of bureaucrats, IPS officers, doctors, engineers, politicians and others have engaged children as domestic helps he said adding that the government henceforth would conduct raids to rescue the children.

Refering to the Act, he said through an amendment the child labour had been banned from October 10 and anyone found engaging them as labourers would be liable to either Rs 20,000 fine or one year imprisonment or both.

A drive had been launched in the state with the help of NGO and Panchayat representatives to rescue the child labour, Mr Modi informed saying that 24 lakh children were out of schools and most of them were working as child labourers in different sectors. He said apart from rehabilitation of the rescued children, special schools would be set up in 24 districts for their education under national child labour project where they would be imparted with the vocational trainings. Such schools were functional in Jamui, Nalanda, Sharsa and Purnia district.

Under the national child labour project the centre would provide Rs 100 for each rescued child and expenditures incurred on their meal.

The Minister further said that he would be writing to other state governments to rescue the child labour of Bihar in their jurisdiction under child labour act instead of juvenile justice act for providing suitable compensation to them.

UNI RS KK DB1638