NEW DELHI: A little streamlining of the complaint and redreassal mechanism has seen the number of child labourers rescued and rehabilitated by authorities this year go up by 51.5 per cent compared to last year. Data from the Ministry of Labour and Employment has revealed that the total number of children rescued in 2017 was 29,979, the number swelled to 45,344 in 2018 (up to September 1).
Ministry officials attribute this increase to the fact that complaints lodged on the Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour (PENCIL) are being brought under the purview of a task force.“Earlier, complaints lodged under PENCIL were investigated and dealt with by them. Now, dealing with the cases has become easier after the Ministry decided to bring them under the purview of a task force. Also, there is almost a centralised complaint lodging system which helps us to work with better efficiency,” a Ministry official said.
Uttar Pradesh has the highest numbers of child labourers, but no child was rescued in the state in 2017 and 2018. Five other states – Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha and Uttarakhand – have not rescued a single child this year.The number of convictions related to child labour cases also dipped slightly in 2017 as compared to 2016 — from 676 to 567. UP had the highest number of people convicted with 361 followed by Punjab, 184.
“This is the first time the government has brought all complaints on one platform. This way, it is easier for the authorities as well as civil societies to zero in and tackle the problem. But the real result will be seen if the authorities strictly implement it,” said Sapna Shah of Akanksha Foundation.