When and why was the Bihar State Child Labour Commission formed? What is the role of the commission?

Keeping in mind the critical situation of child labourers in Bihar, the state government not only enacted the Bihar State Child Labour Commission Act in 1996 but also constituted the Bihar State Child Labour Commission on October 9, 1999, under the chairmanship of educationist Dr Kumar Vimal. The commission was reconstituted thrice on June 6, 2003, March 29, 2007 and in 2010 respectively. The commission reviews implementation and reinforcement of laws enacted by the central and state governments for child labour welfare and makes recommendations to the state government to ensure effective implementation and enforcement of laws, to study and undertake research and analysis for the same.

Many steps have been taken for the eradication of child labour. Why are the figures going up despite this?

The state government is not taking it seriously. Though chief minister Nitish Kumar wants to make Bihar a child labour-free state, the same is not even on the agenda or in the mindset of bureaucrats. The commission, in its annual reports, has continuously been giving many suggestions but nothing has been done in the direction so far. To eliminate poverty, the Supreme Court had clearly stated that an adult member in the rescued child’s family had to be provided with a job. The commission too has suggested this but in vain. The most important thing, to ascertain the exact number of child labourers, is yet to be done. No census has taken place after 2000. The state government has recently assigned the responsibility of the survey to AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies against a fee of Rs 25 lakh, whereas the institute demanded Rs 1 crore. Many children have migrated to other places on the pretext of joining madarsas. Victims of natural calamities or those with several children often fall prey to agents and sell off their wards, who are engaged in child labour. Child labour will not be promoted in any way.

Why are task forces not active especially in the districts?

Task forces find themselves helpless because of absence of transit or short stay homes in the districts. Even if they rescue the children, there are no places where the kids can be kept before being handed over to their parents. Transit or short stay homes should be opened in every district. In Patna, a proper short stay or transit home must be built. Even a part of Kilkari Bhavan might be used for the purpose.

Should child labour be declared a cognisable offence?

Child labour should be declared a cognisable offence so that employers could directly be sent to jail for engaging child labourers. Till date, only 39 offenders could have been punished though FIRs have been lodged against many of them.

How can rehabilitation of rescued children be taken seriously?

The state government would have to think of ways to rehabilitate rescued children by adopting concrete measures. Only then can child labourers be connected with the mainstream of the society.

About Ramdeo Prasad…

Born in a farmer’s family on January 20, 1941, in Nagarnausa village of Nalanda district, Prasad went to his village school. Thereafter, he completed his Intermediate and graduated from Patna University in 1960.

In 1962, he did his BEd from Samastipur Training College. He served as a high school principal in Masaurhi besides joining Bharatiya Majdoor Sangh (an all-India trade union organisation) in 1964. In 1966, he resigned from the post of school principal to become a full-time member of the trade union. He also became the president of Bihar Bharatiya Majdoor Sangh Pradesh and held positions like vice-president of the organisation at the national level. In 1972, Prasad did LLB from Magadh University. Prasad visited countries like Australia and Singapore to study about unorganised labourers and child labourers.

Prasad founded a girls’ high school in his village in 1984, which is now a government school. Most of the students belong to Dalit and backward classes. Prasad was also the state vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party from 1965 to 2005.

In March 2007, Prasad was nominated the chairman of the child labour commission. He was re-nominated in the same post in July 2010 on the basis of his good work in curbing child labour. Prasad was also given the Dhoomdas Award under the banner of Bachpan Bachao Andolan by a Supreme Court judge in 2009.

What would you have been had you not been the chairman of Bihar State Child Labour Commission?

If not the chairman of the commission, I would have been working with trade unions. After this, I would be working for the children of labourers and the Dalit and deprived communities.

EARN WHILE YOU LEARN

What does belief in “learning and earning” mean?

Fully residential schools for rescued children should be started in all the districts of the state with the help of the central government. These schools should be on a par with Netarhat Navodaya Vidyalaya. Each rescued child should be educated in such schools and given stipend so that they are not engaged in some other tasks. Parents should be assured that their children are learning as well as earning, which would in turn help in their rehabilitation. Even widowed mothers would be benefited if their children earn. The department of labour provides a rescued child with Rs 1,500 and a uniform but that is not enough. Parents of rescued children need to be assured that their wards can bring money even if they don’t work. Some vocational training along with educational courses can be arranged for the children in the residential schools.