Shillong, June 5: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) rued over the functioning of the State Labour Department as it failed to tackle child labour in the state. This was informed after a review meeting with the state government officials here on Tuesday.
According to the members of the NCPCR who are on a state visit to Meghalaya it was told that the Labour Department failed to implement the directives of the Commission.
Besides, it was also mentioned that child labour is in prevalance in the state as the labour failed to tackled effectively to ensure that the minors are not employed in hazardous working conditions stipulated by laws.
Moreover, the commission also complained of the failure of the labour department to map all vulnerable areas where child labour is highly prevalent. Dube said, “Though in paper the department claim to done the work but it failed to produce what are the areas which have been mapped as vulnerable before the commission
While speaking to reporters after the meeting NCPCR member Yogesh Dube said, “The labour department is buying time and has failed in handling the issue concerning child labour, especially in coal rich Jaintia hills district,”
Lamenting that the Meghalaya labour department has not fully complied with the commission’s earlier recommendations Dube said, ”The approach of the principal secretary of labour to the issue of child labour is dissatisfactory and lethargic which shows that department is not taking serious note of the matter.”
Dube said that the commission has directed the principal secretary to draw an action plan as to how the child labour survey would be done. The principal secretary has been asked to submit the action plan for Jaintia hills within July 31 while for the other districts of the state within August 31.
According to Dube the labour department has agreed to conduct a child labour survey in Meghalaya corroborating with reputed institutes like NEHU, IIM and MLCU in which officials from the department and civil societies would also be part of the exercise.
Saying that the commission is keen in getting all the data of child labour in Meghalaya, Dube said, “The data provided by the survey would further help in developing strategies to eliminate child labour from the state as well as bringing those children to the mainstream and schools.”
However, the commission said its visit to Meghalaya could be deemed as successful as the state government has agreement to incorporate its recommendations for amending the state mining policy to ensure child ‘friendly’ policy.(SP News)
