Odisha Sets 2029 Target To Make Every Gram Panchayat Child Labour-free

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has set a 2029 deadline to make every gram panchayat in the state free of child labour, with a statewide campaign to identify child labourers and out-of-school children beginning on Gandhi Jayanti, October 2.

The first phase of the campaign will continue till November 14, Children’s Day, with special Gram Sabhas and Palli Sabhas to be organised across all gram panchayats.

The campaign will bring together elected representatives, School Management Committees, women’s self-help groups, Anganwadi and ASHA workers and local residents to identify children engaged in labour as well as those who have dropped out of school or never enrolled.

The participants will also take a collective pledge to make their respective panchayats child labour-free, followed by awareness rallies.

The school and mass education department will spearhead the identification of out-of-school children using available data. The exercise will cover children who have dropped out, never enrolled, have irregular attendance or belong to migrant-worker families.

Special School Management Committee (SMC) meetings will be held from October 10 to 16 to verify the data. Teachers and committee members will subsequently visit the families of identified children from October 26 to 31 to counsel parents and facilitate their re-enrolment in schools.

Where children are found to be engaged in labour, the cases will be reported to local labour authorities between November 1 and 6. Field inspections will follow, with legal action to be initiated wherever necessary under the applicable laws.

The campaign will also focus on vulnerable children, including those with disabilities and orphaned children, by linking them with appropriate government welfare schemes.

A second round of School Management Committee meetings will be held from November 7 to 13 to assess the number of children brought back to school. The findings will subsequently be compiled and submitted in a report.

The government hopes the coordinated campaign will strengthen the role of schools, local communities and enforcement agencies in identifying children at risk, preventing child labour and ensuring their return to education.