Fracas over Tripura child labour figure

AGARTALA, March 28: The ridiculously low number of child labourers recorded by the labour department of the Tripura government has drawn flak from experts of the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute. According to state government records, there are only 278 child labourers in Tripura. Of them, only 11 work in establishments which pose serious health hazards. These figures came out in the course of a seminar on child labour here jointly sponsored by the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute and the state labour department. The figures of child labour referred to by labour department officials in the seminar came as a surprise to institute senior fellow Mahabir Jain and associate fellow Ruma Ghosh. They expressed grave misgivings over the authenticity of the figures. Tripura labour secretary Nepal Sinha said the state government would conduct a fresh survey on child labour in Tripura. Jain and Ghosh, who were here recently in connection with the seminar, addressed a press conference in the state secretariat. They said among the states, Andhra Pradesh had the highest number of child labourers at 11.59 per cent of the total work force, followed closely by Mumbai with 9 per cent. "The number of child labourers is relatively low in Kerala and Himachal Pradesh," they added. Jain and Ghosh said according to 1991 census figures, there were 1.128 crore child labourers in the country. Of this, 55 per cent were males and 45 per cent females. Regarding the number of child labourers recorded in Tripura, Jain and Ghosh said this was not "acceptable specially in an economically backward state where 66 per cent of the population live below the poverty line according to claims of the state government." They said in a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court had directed the Union and state governments to conduct surveys to determine the number of child labourers in the country in 1997. The court's directive said the survey be completed within six months and as a result, the Tripura government also conducted a survey through district magistrates. But the figures mentioned in the survey have triggered a controversy. The fellows of the national labour institute also regretted that unlike in some other states, the Tripura government was yet to form a separate commission for the welfare of child labourers and check their rampant exploitation by unscrupulous businessmen and factory owners. The state government has, however, indicated that a fresh survey on child labour and a package of welfare measures would be implemented soon.