CHANDIGARH (UT): The Committee headed by Justice Rajesh Bindal, Judge, High Court of Punjab & Haryana, Chandigarh, submitted its report today on legal issues related to intercountry removal & retention of children and recommends on addressing the problems of parents and children involved in such issues.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development had appointed the Committee. After detailed deliberation and examinations of various aspects of intercountry removal and restoration of Children, the Committee has submitted the report to Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, Minister for Women and Child Development.

Stressing upon the need for mediation as the first step, the Committee has recommended that the Government may establish an ‘Inter-Country Parental Child Removal Disputes Resolution Authority’. The authority has been envisaged to provide a one window solution in cases of intercountry removal and retention of Children.

Justice Bindal Committee has recommended that the Authority may be chaired by a retired High Court Judge, with Members from Legal and Social sector background along with representatives from key Ministries.

The Committee has recommended that the Authority may examine the inter-country cases of removal and retention of children vis-a-vis the cultural context, the merit of the case, and the best interest of the Child. Along with its recommendation, the Committee has also submitted a draft legislation to the Government. The Committee was also requested to study the draft of the International Child Abduction bill, prepared by the Law Commission.

The WCD Ministry will be sharing the report with Ministry of External Affairs, Law Ministry and Ministry of Home Affairs for their comments and inputs.

PATNA (Bihar): The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is conducting a basic training programme at the Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport in Patna.

The five-day training programme, aimed at enhancing the preparedness of Airport Emergency Handlers (AEHs) to respond to CBRN emergencies at the airports, started today.

CBRN emergencies pertain to threats emanating due to Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear material.

The training programme is being conducted in collaboration with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS).

Earlier, four such programmes have already been conducted – one each in Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and Varanasi.

The programme consists of lectures as well as field training, including live demonstrations of detection and decontamination including the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Apart from equipping the airport emergency handlers to handle CBRN emergencies, the training programme will also enable them to provide medical first aid and initial psycho-social support.

Experts from the domain departments viz. Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), INMAS, NDMA, etc. will deliver lectures and hold demonstrations on various areas related to CBRN emergency management.

A total of 200 personnel will be trained on various aspects of CBRN emergencies. This includes sensitization of 150 working level staff in a half day module.

A team of NDRF, trained for CBRN emergency, is posted in Patna and their expertise will also be utilized in the programme.