Karnal, December 12: A meeting of the District Task Force on child and adolescent labor was held today in the District Secretariat auditorium under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Uttam Singh. During the meeting, the Deputy Commissioner instructed the Assistant Labor Commissioner to inspect the brick kilns in the district and identify child laborers. If child laborers are found, they should be admitted to nearby government schools in coordination with the Education Department.
The Deputy Commissioner asked the labor officials to visit the brick kilns in the district and report within 15 days on the number of child laborers identified and the number of children whose school admission has been ensured. He emphasized that no child should be deprived of the right to education.
The Deputy Commissioner stated that child labor is a legal offense. According to the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016, the employment of children under 14 years of age in all occupations is prohibited. The Act also prohibits adolescents (14 to 18 years) from working in hazardous occupations.
Employers who violate the law can face imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to Rs. 50,000. The Deputy Commissioner directed the concerned officials to intensify the campaign to identify child laborers. He also instructed that the installation of CCTV cameras in all establishments be ensured.
During the meeting, labor officials informed that 15 locations (Government Hospital Chowk, Ram Nagar, Pingli Chowk, Karnal Main Market, Old Vegetable Market, Railway Road, Meera Ghati Chowk, Kalandari Gate, Karan Gate, Old Grain Market, Kunjpura Road, Nissing Main Market, Bhagat Singh Chowk Tarawadi, Industrial Area Nilokheri, Main Market Jundla, Karnal Ladwa Road Indri, Shiv Chowk and Railway Road Gharaunda) have been identified for detecting child laborers. In the last 5 months, raids were conducted on 42 establishments. Two child laborers and 35 adolescents were apprehended. The District Task Force presented them to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) for further action. Those present at the meeting included Assistant Labour Commissioner Karmveer, CWC Chairman Chandraprakash, DEO Rohtas Verma, Labour Inspectors Suresh Kumar, Gajraj and Bhavna, Advocate Monika Sharma from DLSA, DCPO Reena Rani, PR Nath from an NGO, and Sandeep Kumar from the Anti-Human Trafficking unit.