Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a social organisation, alleged that the district task force which should be working to rescue minors being forced into bonded labour is conspicuous by its absence in Dehradun. The State coordinator of the organisation Suresh Uniyal said that freeing the state of the child labour menace is very difficult, given the non-visibility of the task force dedicated to the cause.

He further said that “It is very important to save the children engaged in such labour. The city has a huge number of kids doing such labour daily. There is a special district task dedicated to the cause. It was formed under the direction of district magistrate. It comprises members from Special Juvenile Police Unit (SGPU), Labour Department, District Child Protection Unit, Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and some NGOs. They have been directed to rescue such children within 24 hours on receiving information. However, the task force is existing in Dehradun only in papers.”

“We have requested the labour department to form the team again or process the pending work. Unfortunately, not much has happened,” he said.

He further said there is a lot more they can do for these kids if they get support from the government. “One of the most important things is filling an FIR. The Anti- Human Trafficking Unit is supposed to file an FIR in such cases. It is even a crime to engage a child in the age group of 11 to 18 years in places like a factory or a hotel. If FIR is lodged there is a central sector scheme under which Rs three to four lakh is given to the family for rehabilitation. But the FIRs are not being lodged, something which is denting into the image of the state with its children remaining vulnerable,” he said.

Quizzed over the poor state of things, deputy labour commissioner of Garhwal region Anil Petwal said, “A proposal has been sent to the DM for constituting a new task force on Wednesday. Along with this, we are forming a rescue team. The process will be completed soon.”

Pencil Application

A pencil application was installed by the government in 2017 and the portal is still active. Application works as a platform for effective enforcement for the anti- child labour laws in the country. But processing of the application in the city is low. Stressing on reactivating the initiative in the city, Suresh Uniyal said that Pencil application is an effective way to save such children soon enough.

‘Task force to save children from forced labour non-existent in Dehradun’