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Court: file report on child labour in match units

Legal Correspondent

Indicate steps taken to disengage children

Petition alleges large scale employment of children below 14
“Government has done nothing for welfare of child labourers”

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to file in eight weeks a status report indicating the number of child labourers in match and firecracker units.

A Bench consisting of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices P. Sathasivam and A.K. Ganguly gave this interim direction on an application in a pending petition filed by M.C. Mehta alleging large scale employment of children below 14 in these factories.

By an earlier order, the court directed the constitution of a committee to look into child labour and to mobilise funds for the welfare of these children.

The Bench, taking note of the last affidavit filed in 2004, said the status report should also indicate the steps taken by the committee to disengage child labourers from match and firecracker units; the welfare measures taken to rehabilitate them and how much fund was available with it for such activities.

The application said the intention of the earlier court order was to rehabilitate child labourers and create educational and health facilities for them.

However, in the last 10 years the government had done nothing for their welfare even though there were directions to create a welfare fund.

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