HYDERABAD: The State Action Plan for Elimination of Child and Adolescent Labour, with an estimated annual cost of `49.15 crore, has been approved by the various departments concerned on Saturday. The Action Plan aims at eliminating child labour in the state by 2021.
“It has been approved by the principal secretary and members of various departments,” informed E Gangadhar, joint commissioner of labour for twin cities.
A State Level Monitoring Committee will be set up in the next 15 days. “The Committee will monitor and take decisions at the policy level while the State Resource Centre, with a five-member team, which was constituted on Friday to oversee the various programmes,” Gangadhar added
. The five member team will be the governing body under which will function the District Task Force Committee on the Prevention and Elimination of Child and Adolescent Labour. The same will also be constituted at the mandal level.
What the Action Plan mandates
“These committees will identify hot spots for high incidence of child labour, enforcement of child labour laws, undertake regular enforcement drives,” explained the joint director.
For rehabilitation, the existing welfare and residential schools, Katurba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, will be put to best use.
Under the Sarva Sikshya Abhiyaan Scheme and the National Child Labour Project, special formal schools and training centres will be set up. “We will be setting up work site schools for migrant children where the medium of teaching will be Odia,” said Gangadhar.
According to the Labour Department
Child labour is almost two times in rural areas as that of urban areas
Number of working girl children is marginally less than boys
There is a an increase in the inter-district and inter-state migration
Out of more than a crore children in the 31 districts of TS, as per the 2011 census, the number of working children are recorded at 3.39L
Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 in the context of Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, prohibits all forms of child labour for children upto 14 years