Patna, April 6: Ramdeo Prasad, chairman, Bihar State Child Labour Commission, called for a complete ban on child labour today.

Prasad was addressing a gathering of MLAs and MLCs in a state-level consultancy programme on “Ensuring child rights in Bihar” organised by a non-governmental organisation at a city hotel.

“Although Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act provides 24 rights to the children, 70 per cent of child labour is from the farming sector and that section is totally left out in the act. For them, no provisions have been mentioned. Whereas the Centre’s step for commissioning National Child Labour Project School is a good initiative for the rehabilitation of child labourers, the scheme runs has discrepancies as the fund is allocated to the district magistrates by the Centre, which he provides to the NGOs in the district. He also advocated providing employment to one parent or guardian of the child labour’s family under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act for at least 365 days, or compensatory money. Prasad emphasised a survey on child labour figures in Bihar that is pending since 2001.

Janardan Singh Sigriwal, the labour resources minister, said: “Bihar accounts for nine per cent of the child labour figure in India and is also the fourth highest rank holder in the country, making the situation more critical. Tabs have to be kept till the mindset of the parents of these child labourers are changed. Even strict penalties cannot stop this practice”.

On the occasion, state social welfare minister (SC/ST) Jitan Ram Manjhi and Nisha Jha, chairperson, Bihar State Child Rights Protection Commission and health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey were also present.