State moots own anti-child labour Act

BANGALORE: Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said the state will consider enacting a legislation on the lines of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.
Expressing discontent over the fact that the state has failed to eradicate child labour by 2012, as per its action plan, the CM said: "... In order to achieve this, the laws need more teeth.While we will urge the Centre to amend the 1986 Act, I will also direct our officials to see if a similar legislation can be enacted by Karnataka."
Siddaramaiah was speaking at the World Day Against Child Labour celebrations. "Today, we swear that we will not only discourage child labour but also take an active part in eliminating it. I want all of us here to stick by this oath," he said, amid a huge round of applause at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium.
Hundreds of kids had gathered for the occasion, including six former child labourers - Shobitha, Asha, Pradeep, Mallamma, Durgamma and Souramma. The government has integrated them into mainstream schools. Four girls - Lavanya, Roopa, Nikhila and Baby Ayush - who studied in special schools and scored first class in SSLC, were felicitated.
Labour minister Parameshwar Naik said 19,038 cases against child labour have been filed in various courts since 2001. A fine of Rs 83,43,605 has been levied in 1,359 cases.