A group of NGOs and officials of various departments have begun a study on the reasons for engaging children for work in various establishments and manufacturing units and their health conditions in Andhra Pradesh.
National Action and Coordination Group for Ending Violence Against Children, India (NACG-EVAC India), a country-level civil society forum, in association with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Child Rights Advocacy Foundation (CRAF), Labour and other departments have launched State-level consultations on child labour.
“We are holding consultations with the stakeholders, including the Labour, Women Development and Child Welfare (WD&CW), Child Welfare Committees (CWCs), Crime Investigation Department (CID), Police, Education and other departments and NGOs to discuss the prevalence and the reasons for child labour,” said NACG national Chairperson, Sanjay Gupta.
“Depending on the number of child labour cases, we have taken up the project in eight States in the country. A.P. is one among the States where child labour cases are being reported,” Mr. Sanjay Gupta told The Hindu on Saturday.
CRAF State Project Coordinator P. Francis Thambi said that opinion was gathered on the travails of child labour, reasons, working conditions, wages being paid, working hours and other issues during a consultation.
“Officials of various departments, NGOs working on child rights, labour and child literacy discussed the prevalence of child labour during the meet,” said Mr. Francis Thambi.
“The prevalance of child labour is being studied in eight States, including Telangana, A.P., Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha,” Mr. Sanjay Gupta said.
Mr. Francis Thambi praised the CID and the Labour Department personnel, who rescued 1,506 child labourers during drives in 2023 in the State.
The outcome of the national-level consultations would be tabled during a stakeholders meeting to be held in New Delhi in March this year, the NACG Chairperson said.
