‘Gaps in child protection result of poor implementation’

“It is true that no matter how much we talk about protecting the kids against child labour in the state,the protection law has loopholes that need to be rectified,” said Bhattacharya.

For instance,the only section in the Act which has provisions for legal measure is Section 14. This provision,too,spells out minimal punishment. Since punishments in other cases depend on the seriousness of the crime,even penal measures for violating child rights should be dependent on the nature of the crime,added Bhattacharya.

According to government officials,the process of lodging a complaint in child labour cases and then taking up the matter in the court is a complicated task as many a times there are other hurdles which delay the entire prosecution procedure.

State Labour Minister Anadi Kumar Sahu said there was no other way to deal with this menace apart from continuous awareness.

“The Central government has made various Acts. But our chief minister has already told the Prime Minister that for the laws to be implemented,alternatives have to be thought about for those children whom we are asking not be engaged in child labour,” said Sahu.

“Unless we address those issues it is impossible to carry on. For instance,the money paid to the teachers of Centre-funded National Child Labour Protection (NCLP) schools is only Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,500. In comparison,formal schools pay Rs 20,000 to teachers,” said Sahu.

According to him,the situation in Darjeeling is even worse. Due to political instability,the child welfare schemes are not being implemented in the NCLP schools,which are functioning in 18 districts. Banibrata Basu,Special Commissioner of Kolkata Police,stressed the need for sensitisation of the police officers at all levels,as they are the ones who have to face such cases.