Panaji: The state cabinet on Wednesday approved an amendment to the Goa Children’s Act, 2003, to delete the word ‘leprosy’ from the law.Chief minister Pramod Sawant said the Supreme Court had directed chief secretaries and law secretaries of all states to immediately constitute a committee to study discriminatory expressions used in statutes.Following the directive, a committee held a series of meetings and collected data from all govt departments on state laws — pre- and post-Constitution — that contained discriminatory expressions against individuals affected by leprosy, including those who have been cured, and which remained on the statute books. The committee sought information from all departments and also conducted independent research on the subject.“After the data and research were compiled, recommendations were made to state govt for suitable amendments to the statutes,” the cabinet said.The department of law and judiciary (establishment) forwarded the report of the state committee constituted under the Supreme Court’s directions to carry out amendments to discriminatory provisions against persons affected by leprosy.
