Last Updated on November 23, 2021 at 10:55 am
Home and Health departments of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have been sleeping over the various recommendations of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
These recommendations play an important role for child’s protection and care. NCPCR made numerous recommendations to the government in the month of March 2020 for strict action in a time bound manner and most important among them pertain to the Home and Health Departments.
Talking about Home department, suggestions were made that child welfare police officer shall be deputed in each Police Station of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Special Juvenile Police Unit created in each Police Station.
But shockingly, most of the police stations in the UT don’t have child welfare police officer and Special Juvenile Police Unit. Moreover, in the police stations where such officers have been deputed are not properly trained, reportedly.
As per reports, child welfare police officers and Special Juvenile Police Units are required to be trained especially on Sections 75, 76, 77, 78, 79 and 83(1) and (2) of the Act that these sections are aimed at ensuring punishment for cruelty to child; checking employment of child for begging; imposing penalty for giving intoxicating liquor or narcotic drug or psychotropic substance to a child; checking use of a child for vending, peddling, carrying, supplying or smuggling any intoxicant; checking exploitation of child by employee and punitive measures for adoption without following prescribed procedure.
Talking about Health department, National Commission had recommended that provisions of medical facilities available for children suffering from drug/substance use should be reviewed after regular intervals and beds should be arranged in the government and private hospitals for treatment of such children.
But such children are treated as normal patients in the government hospitals and notwithstanding the claims of the government about holding interactive meetings with the Chemist Associations over the issue of selling any Schedule H drug without prescription, banned intoxicants are easily available for children.
