Handbook on role of panchayats in safe childhood released

A handbook, along with a module and guidelines on protection of child rights in Indian villages, was released here on Monday.

It was launched jointly by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the UNICEF for the functionaries of the Panchayati Raj institutions to help them understand better the rights of children at the Gram Panchayat level.

The handbook will be distributed among Panchayat members and other stakeholders of 14 states also to make them understand their role and actions in protection of children in their villages.

The NCPCR will receive reports on its implementation each month from them. After one year, the Commission will evaluate the impact and felicitate those states which achieve good results.

"Children migrate towards cities because they feel cities have luxuries and better opportunities. The idea of community participation is to retain children in villages," NCPCR Member Rupa Kapoor told IANS.

"Child-friendly Panchayats or Bal Panchayats, recreational activities for children at the Panchayat level and vocational training for children to earn a livelihood for themselves are some of the additions proposed to be made to the already existing Panchayat systems in the country," she said.

The programme of distributing the handbooks will be launched in states, namely -- Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Uttharakhand and Uttar Pradesh. It will cover the entire country later.

"Unless and until communities are involved, making a difference in the lives of children at the village level is an uphill task. Beneficial legislations in the country should be implemented in reality to empower the children," Panchayati Raj Secretary Jitendra Shankar Mathur said.

He suggested that the initiative should be "pursued vigorously" for quick outcomes.

--IANS

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