Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Feb 9: Prevention of child labour and rehabilitation of such juveniles is an important issue countrywide but not for those at the helm of affairs in the State administration despite several glaring instances of the same in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
This can be gauged from the fact that directions issued by the Apex Court of the country several years back have not received any serious attention of the Social Welfare Department, which has an important role to play for implementation of the same. Only a superficial step has been initiated that too in the recent past by constituting an Apex Committee only to make mention of the same before the Supreme Court.
Reliable sources told EXCELSIOR that in the writ petition titled Bachpan Bachao Andolan Versus Union of India, the Supreme Court issued various directions from time to time most notably the directions contained in the orders dated July 30, 2008, January 22, 2010, April 4, 2011 and September 23, 2011.
In its order dated July 22, 2010, the Supreme Court had directed for implementation of the provisions of Juvenile Justice Act to all the States by constituting Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committee in every district within a period of six weeks.
However, there was no serious attention from the Social Welfare Department in this regard on the pretext that the law governing the subject in J&K was not in consonance with the Central law and amendment was required to be conducted in the State law, sources informed.
Though law was amended albeit with much delay in the year 2013 and the J&K Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act was enacted but still no attention was paid towards either implementation of provisions of this Act or directions of Supreme Court, they regretted.
Like Apex Court directions, this Act provides for establishment of Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees but little attention was paid on the pretext that Rules under the Act were to be framed, sources said, adding “the intensity of non-seriousness towards the grave issue can be gauged from the fact that even after formulation of Rules several months back implementation of the Act and directives of Apex Court have not received due attention”.
When non-implementation of its directives by some States including J&K was brought before the Supreme Court in the month of December last year, the latter asked Union Ministry of Child Welfare to summon meeting of concerned officers of States to ensure implementation of directions.
Following this meeting, the State Government in order to avoid strictures from the Apex Court, ordered framing of an Apex Committee on January 27, 2015 by mentioning that this committee will implement the directions of Supreme Court regarding prevention of child labour.
Had there been any seriousness in checking child labour, the State Government should have constituted such a committee much earlier and it should not have waited for the intervention of Union Ministry that too on the directions of the Supreme Court, sources said.
According to the laid down law, the Government was required to constitute within a period of one year from the date of commencement of the J&K Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, for a district or a group of districts one or more Juvenile Justice Boards for exercising the powers and discharging the duties conferred on such Boards in relation to juveniles in conflict with the law under the Act.
However, due to non implementation of these provisions and the directions of the Apex Court child labour continues to remain unchecked and their rehabilitation remains a distant dream.
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