NCPCR's guidelines to Bengal for 'right to play'

To ensure a child's "right to play", India's apex child rights panel has issued a 10-point guideline to the West Bengal government for implementation while granting permission for construction of high-rise residential buildings.

"The government of West Bengal has acceded to the guidelines/recommendations issued by NCPCR for implementation to ensure the children's right to play," the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said in a press statement.

The issue had come up before the commission while processing a complaint wherein a resident of a housing complex, Kolkata had been constantly harassing and threatening the children from playing in the common areas.

"The commission is now taking up with all the state Governments and union territories to ensure children's right to play living in the high-rise residential building/housing complex," the panel said in the statement.

Some of the key guidelines include:

- A provision for safe and uninhabited outdoor play ground for children, which should be safe from traffic, pollution, and unnecessary physical and social hazards.

- The location of the play areas should be near, in and around the central part of the housing complex so that the children feel secure and less isolated from their parents.

- There should be free ingress and egress of children without any discrimination and the play ground should be open on all reasonable times.

- Play areas should accommodate different types of play.

- To ensure provision for places where both adults and children can interact on a casual basis.

- To ensure that there should be provision/facility of barrier-free playing for children with special needs.