Just 0.02% child labourers rescued: Kailash Satyarthi NGO refutes Central govt claim

By Our Representative
A study conducted by the Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation (KSCF) titled ‘Extent of child labour and prosecution of cases under Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016, in India’ has revealed that the percentage of total number of victims rescued during 2016-18 is only a meagre 0.02% of the total number of child labourers in the country.
KSCF was founded by top child rights leader Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi in 2004.
The study, which seeks to assess government’s efforts towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 of eliminating Child Labour by 2025 in the country, says that despite the Central government’s “commitment” to end child labour by 2025, “The effort as well as will of the government to rescue child labourers is evidently not reflected in the number of FIRs that are registered every year in the country”, especially because “the magnitude of instances of child labour is so large (10 million as per Census of India 2011), State-Wise Extent and Prosecution Analysis.”
A secondary analysis of data from three successive ‘Crime in India’ reports published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) from 2016 to 2018 and the Census of India 2011 suggests that a mere 204 FIRs (384 victims) in 2016, 462 FIRs (685 victims) in 2017 and 464 FIRs (810 victims) in 2018, were registered under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act (CPLRA) in the country, suggesting, these are grossly inadequate and do not reflect the ground realities.
According to the study, state-wise analysis reveals that even though Uttar Pradesh has the highest population of child labourers in the country (21%), only 15 FIRs have been registered under CLPRA in the last three years, rescuing only 20 child labourers.

Similarly, in Bihar, which has the second largest child labour population, not even a single FIR under CLPRA was registered in 2016 and 2017, and only 14 FIRs were registered in the year 2018. These figures not only signify a major gap with regards to registration of cases under CLPRA by the law enforcement agencies, but also emphasizes upon the need to create awareness among the general population of Bihar in order to substantially scale-up reporting of child labour in the state.

In more than 10 states, which constitute almost 14% of the total child labour population in the country, not even a single child was rescued

The situation in Maharashtra, being one of the major destinations for migration/trafficking, which has the fourth largest child labour population in the country (700,000 child labourers), is also appalling. Only a total of 313 FIRS have been lodged under CLPRA in the last three years in the state. States like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, which are the prime source areas from where child labourers are trafficked to large cities, are performing equally badly.
While 33 FIRs were registered and 33 children were rescued in Jharkhand between 2016 and 2018, the number of FIRs and rescues for the same period in Chhattisgarh was one each. The same pattern is observed in Madhya Pradesh (29 FIRs and 32 children rescued) and West Bengal (11 FIRs and 11 children rescued) between 2016 and 2018.
As per the study, in more than 10 states which constitute almost 14% of the total child labour population in the country, not even a single child was rescued from situations of forced labour. These states are Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Odisha, Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

Pendency and conviction

An analysis of prosecution of cases filed under CLPRA has brought out a huge gap between the number of prosecutions lodged in a year and the number of cases whose trials were completed. As a result, pendency of under trial cases under the CLPRA has been going up from year to year. For pendency to remain constant, it is necessary that the number of cases under CLPRA in which chargesheet is filed is equal to trials completed, the study says.
It adds, if pendency is to be brought down, the annual disposal of cases filed under CLPRA must exceed the annual institution of new cases under in the court. This can happen if and only if exclusive dedicated court to try cases under the CLPRA are created.
According to the study, as far as conviction under the CLPRA cases is concerned, the situation was much worse in 2016 as compared to the rate of conviction in other crimes against children. In the year 2016 the conviction rate under CLPRA was 11% which was substantially lower than the conviction rate for all crimes against children in the country, which was more than 30%.
However, it says, the conviction rate in 2017 rose drastically to 70% but the year 2018 again saw a fall in the conviction rate where it dropped to 44%.

Comments

Junk food push causing severe public health crisis of obesity, diabetes in India: Report

By Rajiv Shah A new report , “The Junk Push: Rising Consumption of Ultra-processed foods in India- Policy, Politics and Reality”, public health experts, consumers groups, lawyers, youth and patient groups, has called upon the Government of India to check the soaring consumption of High Fat Sugar or Salt (HFSS) foods or ultra-processed foods (UPF), popularly called junk food.

Avoidable Narmada floods: Modi birthday fete caused long wait for release of dam waters

Counterview Desk Top advocacy group, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), has accused the Sardar Sarovar dam operators for once again acting in an "unaccountable" manner, bringing "avoidable floods in downstream Gujarat." In a detailed analysis, SANDRP has said that the water level at the Golden Bridge in Bharuch approached the highest flood level on September 17, 2023, but these "could have been significantly lower and much less disastrous" both for the upstream and downstream areas of the dam, if the authorities had taken action earlier based on available actionable information.

From 'Naatu-Naatu' to 'Nipah-Nipah': Dancing to the tune of western pipers?

By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD* Some critics have commented that the ecstatic response of most Indians to the Oscar for the racy Indian song, “Naatu-Naatu” from the film, “RRR” reeks of sheer racism, insulting visuals and a colonial hangover. It was perhaps these ingredients that impressed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, one critic says.

Astonishing? Violating its own policy, Barclays 'refinanced' Adani Group's $8 billion bonds

By Rajiv Shah A new report released by two global NGOs, BankTrack and the Toxic Bonds Network, has claimed to have come up with “a disquieting truth”: that Barclays, a financial heavyweight with a “controversial” track record, is deeply entrenched in a “disturbing” alliance with “the Indian conglomerate and coal miner Adani Group.”

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam* RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Asset managers hold '2.8 times more equity' in fossil fuel cos than in green investments

By Deepanwita Gita Niyogi* The world’s largest asset managers are far off track to meet the 2050 net zero commitments , a new study released by InfluenceMap , a London-based think tank working on climate change and sustainability, says. Released on August 1, the Asset Managers and Climate Change 2023 report by FinanceMap, a work stream of InfluenceMap, finds that the world’s largest asset managers have not improved on their climate performance in the past two years.

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam* Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Victim of 'hazardous' jobs, Delhi sanitary workers get two thirds of minimum wages

By Sanjeev Kumar* Recently, the Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM) organized a Training of Trainers (ToT) Workshop for sewer workers and waste pickers from all across Delhi NCR. The workshop focused on bringing sanitation workers from different parts of Delhi to train them for organization building and to discuss their issues of minimum wage, contractual labour, regular jobs and social security.

Search This Blog