The Hindu: Mysuru: Thursday, 09 April 2015.
Close to 95 per cent of the amount collected from
those found guilty of employing children in the State over the last 10 years is
lying unutilised in the Child Labour Welfare Corpus Fund.
Barely Rs. 4.85 lakh, of the Rs. 83.15 lakh
collected as penalty in 1,168 child labour convictions recorded between 2004
and 2014, has been released from the corpus fund for the welfare and
rehabilitation of rescued child labourers, information obtained from 30
districts of the State under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed.
The corpus fund, established in each district and
managed by the respective Deputy Commissioner, was set up in the wake of a
Supreme Court order in 1996 to help rehabilitate rescued child labourers.
When the matter was brought to the notice of
Labour Commissioner D.S. Vishwanth said the powers for releasing the funds had
been given to the respective deputy commissioners. “The Labour Department
cannot meddle with the Corpus Fund,” he told The Hindu.
People’s Legal Forum (PLF), Mysuru, which
collected information from the 30 districts, is now planning to move the
Supreme Court over the “callous” attitude of the government in the matter. PLF
convener P.P. Baburaj told The Hindu that many officials with the Child Labour
Rehabilitation Societies in the districts were unaware of the corpus fund. In
one case, according replies given to RTI queries, Mr. Baburaj said the Deputy
Commissioner’s office in Raichur had transferred a large chunk of the fund to
the government account. “Why was this done? Out of sheer ignorance,” he said.
The amount is collected as fine from those found
guilty of employing children.
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