New Delhi, Oct. 23: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights today asked states to ensure builders keep in mind play spaces while constructing high-rise apartments and housing complexes, replicating a set of kid-friendly guidelines Bengal could partly take credit for.

The guidelines, which are not binding, had been issued to Bengal a couple of months ago following a complaint that a resident was “harassing” children playing in the common areas of a housing complex in Calcutta.

NCPCR member Vinod Tikku said the state had “agreed to follow” the guidelines. “The principal secretary has already met local-body representatives and other stakeholders who are responsible for sanctioning and building high-rises. In fact, the secretary has given them three months to come up with an action-taken report.”

Tikku said the issue came up before the commission when it received the complaint from Calcutta. “We have now replicated these guidelines for other states to follow.”

Another area the commission has focused on is safety of kids. One of the guidelines makes it mandatory for local bodies to ensure the “safety and security of children” while granting permission for construction.

Residential complexes, the provision says, must have a proper boundary wall and security personnel to look after the safety of the children.

The guidelines include a list of 10 “dos and don’ts” that will be mandatory for builders to adhere to. One of the provisions says each building should have an “uninhabited outdoor playground for children” which is “safe from traffic, pollution and unnecessary physical and social hazards”.

“While determining the area of play spaces, it is necessary to accommodate a considerable number of children at a time and such provision will keep in mind the number of dwelling units being sanctioned,” it says.

According to the guidelines, the location of the play areas should be “near, in and around the central part” of the housing complex so the children “feel secure and less isolated from their parents”.

The guidelines follow the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention, which India has ratified, provides every child the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate in cultural events and the arts.

The guidelines also specify that for existing housing complexes that don’t have playgrounds, the nearest park or school field should be designated as playgrounds for children of such complexes.

“With increasing population and ever shrinking liveable spaces in the urban and metro centres, the spaces for children to ensure their right to play seems to be getting out of the focus in our infrastructural planning as well,” Tikku said.