New Delhi

Child labourers freed after raids

NEW DELHI: To check child labour in the Capital, the Delhi Government’s Labour Department conducted 12,569 inspections between 2003 and 2007 following which 1,236 children were freed and 754 managements were challenged and sent to the court of special metropolitan magistrates, Labour Minister Mangat Ram Singhal said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the inauguration of a daylong workshop on child labour at the NDPL office in Rohini, Mr. Singhal said the children who were freed during these raids were provided free education, medical facilities, food, clothes and shelter. The Delhi Government had also been helping them financially and resettling them in life, he added. The Minister said while the Government keeps organising awareness campaigns and rallies about this social problem, it is essential that private and non-government organisations come forward to ensure its total elimination in Delhi.

Mr. Singhal said that according to Child Labour Rules, 15 works and 57 processes have been declared prohibited for children below the age of 14 years. Violation of the rule entails a fine of up to Rs.20,000 and imprisonment of up to one year.

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