Highlighting the fact that the Madhya Pradesh government does not have an updated database on the number of child labourers in the state, participants at a state level consultation on implementation of Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act (CLPRA) expressed concern over efficacy of steps to eliminate child labour.
In the wake of recent amendments in the CLPRA, the state-level consultation was held by the Campaign against Child Labour (CACL), Hifazat Network in collaboration with CRY - Child Rights, in Bhopal.
Representatives from Police Department of Madhya Pradesh, Department of Labour Madhya Pradesh, Childline and various Civil Society Organisations participated in the one-day long consultation.
The latest figures are only from Census 2011 in which MP recorded total 7,00,239 child labourers—seven per cent of all child labourers in the country. This puts MP among the top five states in country with highest child labourers, the highest being in Uttar Pradesh.
The CLPRA 2016 bans all child labour up to the age of 14 years. However, it makes an exception where a child is permitted to work only to help family, in family enterprise or as a child artist after school hours or during vacations.
Also, the current list of hazardous and non-hazardous occupations and processes (derived from the Factories Act 1948) is seen to have been framed considering the risks and challenges of the working adults but not the adolescents, and hence needs a thorough re-look.
“According to Sustainable Development Goals child labour should completely stop by 2025. It is a matter of concern how state government is going to do it when government does not even have exact numbers of child labourers,” State Convener of CACL Rajeev Bhargava said at the meet.
Assistant Labour Commissioner Bhopal Jasmine Ali said, “According to Census 2011, Madhya Pradesh is among top 5 states where highest number of child labourers was registered. However, we are committed to improve this ranking and make MP child labour-free. The work plan to end child labour is in place now and targets have been fixed for every district.”
Senior IPS officer Dr G.K. Pathak said, “We have law in place to curb child labour but there is a need to strengthen the implementation process. Especially, in rural Madhya Pradesh, there is a need to develop a system where every child not attending school even for a small span of time should be tracked. Most importantly, while, rescue efforts are essential but without proper rehabilitation we cannot ensure a safe and happy childhood.”
Sharing his views on the status of child labour, Programme Head, CRY (North), Subhendu Bhattacharya said, “India’s national target set in National Plan of Action for Children (NPAC) 2016 as well as Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) clearly states that it will make all efforts to eliminate child labour by 2025. According to census 2011, MP registered more than 7 lakh child labourers. The census also states that 60 per cent child labour in the nation is concentrated in agriculture and allied sectors. Thus, in a state like MP where agriculture is the prime occupation it becomes really important to recognize and find solutions to curb child labour in agriculture as it is a huge challenge for children to balance work and education”.
CACL members opined that, the amendment in CLPRA Act 2016 fails to address its purported objective of prohibition of child labour from all occupations and processes. The legislation does not put family and family-based occupations, agriculture and allied sectors, sports & entertainment industry under the purview of the hazardous/non-hazardous list, legalising such work.
