Govt not serious on child labour: Satyarthi NGO
New Delhi, Oct. 19: The Nobel Peace Prize to child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi may have put the spotlight on the issue of child labour, but his NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan ( BBA) says the Delhi government is not serious about dealing with the “menace”, unlike many other states.
The NGO, which was set up by Satyarthi, said that as many as 238 rescued child labourers belonging to Delhi, many of whom were declared bonded labourers, are yet to be rehabilitated as per the Bonded Labour ( Abolition) Act, 1976.
“Under the act, it is incumbent upon the authorities to ensure the rehabilitation of the rescued children by creating a rehabilitation- cum- welfare fund of ` 25,000 of which ` 20,000 shall be paid by the employer as a fine and the rest shall come from the state,” said BBA chairperson R. S. Chaurasia.
In a letter to the chairperson of the district task force on child labour in May, 2013, Rakesh Senger of BBA had said that there was a need to urgently take up the matter and rehabilitate all the rescued chil- dren.
“While the reply came from all the other state governments on the rehabilitation of rescued children, government departments in Delhi keep on dodging the matter and shirking responsibility by putting the onus on each other,” Mr Senger said.
The Delhi labour department did not respond to the criticism.