Taking suo motu cognizance of media reports about prevalence of toffees laced with intoxicating substance, National Human Rights Commission has asked the Chennai District Collector to apprise it of the steps taken to handle the situation.
Referring to a 13-year-old boy falling ill after allegedly consuming a candy which was reportedly laced with an intoxicating substance (bhang), the NHRC said in a notice, "a school boy had to be admitted to a hospital after consuming drug chocolates which he purchased from a shop in Chennai."
"A huge quantity of toffees having drugs was seized from a godown in Tamil Nadu," it said, quoting media reports, in a press release.
NHRC said it has sent notice to Chennai District Collector returnable in four weeks, directing the authority to "inform about the steps being taken to deal with the situation."
The commission observed that the "menace, as reported in the newspapers, is a serious threat to the life and safety of the younger generation, mainly the students and teenagers, who can be easily lured by the anti-social elements."
"Seizure of such a large quantity of drug chocolates in the area also indicates the laxity on the part of the department concerned," the NHRC noted.
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Dattatreya also said the Centre was trying to bring in required amendments to the Act to address the scourge of bonded labour as also to award adequate compensation to the victims.
"As per revised provisions, children, including orphans or those rescued from organised and forced begging rings or other forms of forced child labour and women will be treated as special category beneficiaries and given Rs 2 lakh of financial assistance.
"Rs 3 lakh will be given in cases of bonded or forced labour involving extreme cases of deprivation... marginalisation cases of transgender, women and children rescued from ostensible sexual exploitation such as brothels, massage parlours, placement agencies and trafficking, or in cases of differently-abled persons and in situations where the District Magistrate deems fit," he said.
Such cash benefit would be in addition to other land and housing elements of the scheme as provided by the district administration, he added.
Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, M Sathiyavathy in her address at the seminar said the Centre was also coming up with a wage code, which would also have a national floor for age category for labourers.
"We are also in the process of listing industries where children cannot work," she said.
