Now,onus on hsg societies to halt child labour……Clara Lewis
Mumbai: The state cooperation department has made it mandatory for housing societies to ensure that no children under 14 years are employed in a society or its flats.The anti-child labour move is part of a series of new inclusions the government has made to the Model Housing Society Bye-laws.
The inclusions,which aim to make societies more responsible for self-regulation,also specify that housing societies must protect the rights of legal heirs if someone else is a flats nominee.
However,office-bearers and society members said they are toothless to implement regulations as there is no proper mechanism to implement bye-laws.
State wants housing societies TO TAKE UP MORE SELF-RULE ……Clara Lewis
Sections included in bye-laws governing child labour,rights of heirs,disaster management & other important society issues
Sections included in bye-laws governing child labour,rights of heirs,disaster management & other important society issues
The state cooperation department has made it mandatory for all housing societies to self-regulate themselves across a range of issues.For example,societies must ensure that no child below the age of 14 is employed on the societys premises or in any flat.
In a series of new inclusions to the existing bye-laws which govern the internal regulation of a society the government has made housing societies responsible for the implementation of several regulations.
In case a society discovers that child labour exists on its premises,it must immediately contact the labour commissioners office or social service organizations.The labour commissioner can then continue with the case and the guilty party could be penalized with a fine of up to Rs 20,000 and /or a jail term of up to a year.
The states Model Housing Society Bye-laws have been changed after nearly a decade,with 30% more regulations being included.Lawyer and housing expert Vinod Sampat said the new inclusions were long awaited.They were to be introduced in 2009,but now it has finally happened.It is a progressive step and requires more participation from the society members in running the society, he added.
The running of housing societies is governed by the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act,1960.With the increase in the number of housing societies in the state it is estimated that there are around 60,000 societies in Mumbai the state clearly feels that self-regulation is the best regulation.
Societies will have to protect the rights of legal heirs by ensuring that a flats nominee does not create third-party rights without paying attention to the heirs rights.This will especially help in cases where a widow could be thrown out of her house.The new clause restricts the rights of the nominee, said Sampat.
Societies must also prepare their own disaster management plans.Officials said this is necessary because many societies do not maintain basic safety features,like fire hydrants,clear staircases,etc.Each society will have to maintain important telephone numbers,including those of the members and disaster management officials.