A child has a fundamental right to freedom and education, thus the state has to fulfill the same, prohibiting activities that keep children away from enjoying these rights. The practice of Child labour is a significant cause that violates these rights. Children being vulnerable & voiceless can be intimidated, forced to work long hours and are paid less. No labour laws protect them or any form of social security net is provided. Thus the employers prefer to employ children rather than adult. High incidence of child labour results in high incidence of adult unemployment. This depresses the adult employment market, making it difficult for parents to put together a respectable life for themselves and their children. The cycle continues with parents left with little option but to send their children to work. Children work at the cost of full time schooling and opportunities to play and rest. Large numbers of children work simply because there is no alternative - since, they do not have access to good quality schools. Child labour is an effect as well as cause of illiteracy and ignorance.

At the root cause of child labour are livelihood issues of parents. If these are resolved as part of the state rehabilitation package for children released from labour, the solutions will be holistic and permanent. To start with we need to know the number of children working in Mumbai. Post the October ban on children working in hotels and homes the state today has no specific plan for rehabilitation of children in Mumbai who work as domestic help. Infact, there is no official number available of children working in Mumbai for a living.

Data source: Census 2001, MMC website & 2002 year book, NHFS, Nitin Hetekar study, Maharashtra state report