CM stresses on making Assam safer for children

Guwahati: Assam chief minister Sarbanada Sonowal, who released a books on role of duty bearers in child protection, stressed on the need of creating a secure and beautiful atmosphere for children in the state.

Lauding the initiative of IPS officer and author Surendar Kumar, Mr Sonowal said it is the primary responsibility of every citizen to protect children. “The book will inspire all those who work in the field of child protection and help enforce laws of the land,” he added.

Recalling as to how Mr Kumar, who is presently serving as IGP (CID), started work on his book, he said, “The book was conceptualised during the Fourth Round Regional Consultation of North Eastern States and Sikkim on ‘Effective Implementation of Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015 with focus on Integrated Child Protection Services’ organised by Supreme Court Juvenile Justice Committee in collaboration with State Child Protection Society and Unicef, Assam.” It is significant children invariably constitute for 40 per cent of our total population and are an imperative part of the society.

A retrospective analysis of data recorded in the lustrum depicts a steady increase with crime committed against children.

Though, various systems and structures have been established by the government to address issues relating to children and ensure a safe and protective environment, but to achieve the highest standards of services for children, one cannot work alone and requires inter departmental convergence.

Mr Kumar said that in this book hye has identified the pivot legislations pertaining to children and have defined their roles as mandated under various legislations.

In order to cater to different readers and for the convenience of the audience, the book has been written in a very simple language and varied range of info-

There are eight chapters in the book and each chapter is dedicated to a government department, defining their roles and responsibilities under various laws dealing with children.

Mr Kumar has also suggested a set of recommendations to ensure effective execution of their responsibilities for children. Mr Kumar who himself is serving as IGP CID has incorporated various insights from his own experiences while dealing with child related cases in the filed.  

Mr Kumar said that in order to work effectively with children, apart from understanding of one’s own responsibilities, it is highly desirable that one is also aware about the role of other duty bearers working with children.

“The book is an attempt to bring clarity and generate awareness by encompassing the provisions and mandate of different legislations in one place,” he added.

As this book is developed with an aim to enrich the knowledge of the stakeholders and create awareness among duty bearers, the book will be non-chargeable and a soft copy of this book will be available in the official website of National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam (www.nlu.ac.in) and on request to the publisher, hardcopy of the book can also be provided subject to its availability.