HC seeks information on child labour in Maharashtra

The Bombay High Court today asked the Maharashtra Government to find out the birth ratio (child sex ratio) of the last five years, and how many children born in this period are currently not in the school.
"If you maintain the (balanced) birth ratio, then it could be an answer to many ills including child labour and human trafficking," said the judges.
"(Then) You have to find out where the children have gone if they have not gone to the schools," said the bench headed by Justice Naresh Patil, during the hearing of a suo motu public interest litigation -- initiated by the court on its own -- on child labour.

The information is to be provided by April 23.
The government today informed the court that the Child Labour Cell, formed in May 2006, had rescued 5,000 child labourers so far. Of them, 1,719 were from Maharashtra, and the rest from outside. A total of 561 cases were filed and 18 employers were chargesheeted, it said in an affidavit.
As many as 4,073 rescued child labourers were in schools, it added.