The state commission for protection of child rights has chosen 16 housing societies in the city that have been certified as child-labour-free and have taken a pledge to fight child labour.
The commission has given a plaque to these societies after conducting a survey that it does not employ children for work.
The campaign to raise awareness about safe childhood started a couple of months ago with the commission approaching housing societies and talking to the committee members to create awareness and finally conducting a survey.
The campaign culminated in a programme titled Celebrating Safe Childhood and the distribution of plaques on Friday.
“This is a campaign to raise awareness against child labour and we wanted people to be part of this campaign and help us in it,” said Sudeshna Roy, the new chairperson of the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights, who took charge last week.
The housing societies surveyed have 200 to 500 apartments.
“One society told us that they had taken care to ensure no child is deployed in teams that clean their premises and swimming pool,” said Roy.
The idea of this campaign is to let people themselves take an initiative.
In many housing societies, there are children who work as help at homes or come to do odd jobs. This initiative would help curb that.
In Avidipta, a housing complex with 532 apartments in Mukundapur, the initiative has been taken by the women’s group of the housing complex.
“We have sentry at the gate, which gives us an understanding of who comes into the society,” said Soma Ghosh, an Avidipta resident.
“When this initiative was launched, we wanted to be a part of this,” she said.
During the campaign, the commission has been telling committee members to report to them if they see children working in a tea stall outside.
“We told the residents that they have to make an effort and try to send them to schools,” said Roy.
The next round of inspection and survey will start in November.
