81 child labourers rehabilitated in Bihar on NHRC's intervention

New Delhi, Dec.2 (ANI): The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has managed to get rehabilitated 81 child labourers in Bihar out of 143 belonging to different districts of the state and rescued from carpet looms in Uttar Pradesh during 1993-2003.

The Commission has asked the district authorities to complete rehabilitation of remaining 60 child labourers as per the list provided by its Investigation Division to them and submit a report.

The Commission has been pursuing the matter with the Bihar government since 2005. It took up the case on a complaint dated 8th August, 2005, filed by Ghuran Mehto, Regional President, Bachpan Bachaoo Andolan that the district authorities of Saharsa, Madhepura, Darbhanga, Khagaria, Arariya, Gaya and Saupal were not complying with the directions of the Supreme Court on the rehabilitation of 114 rescued child labourers as a result they were forced to live in a miserable condition.

During the course of its persistent efforts with the district authorities in providing rehabilitation to these child labourers, the Commission also sent its team on the 27th August, 2009 to visit these six districts in the state to make an on the spot inquiry to know the progress made in their rehabilitation.

The team found that in addition to 114 cases as reported by the complainant, there were 29 more child labourers of Madhepura waiting for their rehabilitation.

The team reported that rehabilitation of 39 child labourers was completed before its visit, while 2 had expired. 42 other child labourers were rehabilitated after the intervention of the team.

In the case of 10 others, photocopies of the release certificates were provided to the authorities and they agreed in principle to initiate the process of rehabilitation on the basis of these documents only.

As regards, the remaining 50 cases of child labourers, the concerned district magistrates have initiated action to process the release certificates from their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh. (ANI)