‘Many child abandonment cases fail to make it to govt records’
The data on abandoned children is scattered and unreliable, say stakeholders. From 2017 to 2019, U.P. recorded 424 cases of abandoned infants
We have come across shocking cases where newborns have been abandoned in polythene bags, sacks, or just discarded in parks. SANGEETA SHARMA,
LUCKNOW: Two cases of newborns being found abandoned and rescued were reported here in a week. Both babies were rescued by the police and Childline Lucknow and placed in the care of government shelter homes in the city.
One of them was a few days old and the other 8 months. Four new-borns, all girls, have been rescued in the state this year after abandonment, as per Childline.
“These are only the cases that are reported, there are many more that go unnoticed and do not make it to the government records,” said Sangeeta Sharma, director of Childline, Lucknow.
The data on abandoned children is scattered and unreliable, say stakeholders. From 2017 to 2019, UP recorded 424 cases of abandoned infants. There were 740 abandoned children in 2021 countrywide, of which two were from UP, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data. The ‘Bal Swaraj’ portal set up by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights recorded 492 cases since April 2020.
As per Childline, 9 abandoned new-borns were rescued in Lucknow alone in 2021. “We get nearly 40-50 cases yearly,” said Asiya Raza, social worker with Rajkiya Bal Griha (Shishu) who looks after adoption procedures at the shelter.
To note, anyone who leaves a child in any place with the intention of abandoning it, stands to face up to 7 years of imprisonment or a fine, or both.
“We have come across shocking cases where newborns have been abandoned in polythene bags, sacks, or just discarded in parks. We had a case of a child who had maggots all over the body from being left in an unhygienic place. Very often, people take care to avoid abandoning children where CCTV cameras might be installed, so that they cannot be caught. Most are unaware of the provisions in place that can be availed when one is not equipped to raise a child,” said Sharma.
After a general diary has been filed once an abandoned child is rescued, the shelter home is supposed to wait two months, in case the family returns to claim the child, according to the Juvenile Justice Act. “But this almost never happens,” said Raza. “And after waiting two months, almost all of them are put up for adoption - the process takes about 5 to 6 months for a child to get adopted,” she said.
LUCKNOW: Data from the labour department suggests that the state’s system for checking and eradicating child labour has been somewhat stagnant. In the past five years (from 2017 to mid 2022)), less than half the identified children who were engaged in child labour were rescued by the authorities. The highest number of identified child labourers, 988, was recorded from Kanpur Nagar district.
From 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh, nearly 12308 children had been identified as child labourers - this number could also feature repeats of children who were similarly identified and not rescued earlier. But as of 2022, only 2256 have been rescued. Moreover, only 1258 of the employers hiring child labourers had any cases filed against them.
Under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation Act) of 1986, amended in 2016 to include adolescents as well, the punishments for hiring child labourers are different in cases when they are engaged in hazardous occupations and when they are not. In the case of the former, any person hiring a child (below 14 years) or an adolescent (between 14 to 18 years) may be punished with jail time between 6 months to 2 years and/or will have to pay a fine of between Rs. 20,000 to 50,000. In case the children are not engaged in hazardous tasks or processes, the employer can be punished with jail up to 1 month and/or a fine of up to Rs. 10,000. However, it is legal for children to be engaged in their own family businesses, so long as it is not dangerous.
According to child rights activist and researcher, Umesh
Gupta, the rescue and rehabilitation process for these children is severely lacking. The labour department office in every district is supposed to be responsible for identifying, rescuing and beginning the rehabilitation process, which involves other departments as well, such as the Child Welfare Committee. “If this process is not properly carried out children will go back to work in these establishments. If the employers are not adequately prosecuted or fined, they will not be fearful of repeating their actions.”
In the amendment to the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act in 2016, the government directed that every district should have Child & Adolescent Labour Rehabilitation Fund, to ensure not only the rescue of the child, but also to make sure that the amount collected can be utilised by the children for their welfare and education. According to the order, along with the amount collected from the employer, the state government will also disburse Rs. 15,000 to the children. From 1996 to 2018, only 1.42% of this rehabilitation fund has been distributed to the children. Data from 2017 to mid 2022 suggests that not a single rupee of the fund has been distributed in almost 5 years.
Shuchita Chaturvedi of the UPSCPCR (Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights) said that the labour department’s inaction in this regard is upsetting, “We would be in a much better position if they carried out the rescues correctly.” According to her, none of the governmental stakeholders are playing their roles adequately and there is high chance that the data collected is inaccurate as many children fall under the radar. Syed Rizwan Ali, state coordinator for child labour and bonded labour at the labour commissioner’s office said that the department had done its bit in identifying the children and handing the list over to the ministry of women and child development ( WCD) and further verification and collection of details was up to the WCD. Only after the WCD drew up the final list of children with required documents, could they be integrated into government schemes for their benefit, he said.