Lok Sabha Question No. 108 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-18
Subject: Child Labour
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Reddeppa Nallakonda Gari, Geetha Viswanath Vanga, Nihal Chand Chauhan, Ajay Nishad, Dileshwar Kamait, Nusrat Jahan Ruhi, Shantanu Thakur, Pradeep Kumar Singh

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 108

TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.11.2019

## CHILD LABOUR

108. SHRI N. REDDEPPA:

SHRIMATI VANGA GEETHA VISWANATH:

SHRI NIHAL CHAND:

SHRI AJAY NISHAD:

SHRI DILESHWAR KAMAIT:

SHRIMATI NUSRAT JAHAN RUHI:

SHRI SHANTANU THAKUR:

SHRI PRADEEP KUMAR SINGH:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)whether  the  Government  has  taken  cognizance  of  the  fact  that  child labour  is  still  prevalent  and  increasing  in  many  parts  of  the  country despite the ban on child labour and if so, the details thereof, State/ UTwise along with reasons for such increase;
- (b)the  details  of  the  provisions  fixed  by  the  Government  for  action  against convicts of child labour and the number of cases of child labour reported during  the  last  three  years  and  steps  taken/being  taken  to  completely avoid  and  check  child  labour  in  the  country  with  some  action  plan  in coordination with States;
- (c)the extent to which the Government has succeeded/achieved to control/stop child labour in the country; and
- (d)whether the Government proposes to formulate any legislation/laws in this regard and if so, the details thereof along with the steps being taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## (SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR GANGWAR)

- (a)  to  (d):  Child  Labour  is  an  outcome  of  various  socio-economic  problems such as poverty, economic backwardness and illiteracy.

As  per  2011  Census,  the  number  of  main  workers    in  the  age group  of 5-14 years  in the country  is 43.53 lakh  which shows a decline from 57.79 lakh as per  2001 Census.  State wise details of main workers in the age group of 5-14 years  as per  Census 2011 is at Annexure-I.

For elimination of child labour,  the  Government  has amended the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act , 1986  and enacted the Child Labour  (Prohibition  &  Regulation)  Amendment  Act,  2016  which  came  into force with effect from  1.9.2016. The Amendment Act inter-alia provides for complete prohibition  of  work  or  employment  of  children  below  14  years  of age in any occupation and process and prohibition of adolescents in the age group  of  14  to  18  years  in  hazardous  occupations  and  processes.  The Amendment  Act  also  provides  the  stricter  punishment  for  employers  for violation of the Act and has made the offence as cognizable.

As  per  provisions  contained  in  the  Act,  whoever  employs  any child or permits any child to work in contravention  shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six month but which may extend to two years, or with fine which shall not be less than twenty thousand  rupees  but  which  may  extend  to  fifty  thousand  rupees,  or  with both.

Also whoever employs any adolescent or permits any adolescent to  work  in  contravention  of  the  provisions    shall  be  punishable  with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to two years or with fine which shall not be less than twenty thousand  rupees  but  which  may  extend  to  fifty  thousand  rupees,  or  with both.

As per the information received from the States/UTs , the number of violations  detected , prosecutions launched  and convictions made  under the  Child Labour Act , State/UT wise , during the last three years  is given at annexure -II.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment is also implementing the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme since 1988 for rehabilitation of child labourers. Under the NCLP, the children in the age group of 9-14 years are rescued/ withdrawn from work and enrolled in the NCLP Special Training Centres, where they are provided with bridge education, vocational training, mid-day  meal,  stipend,  health  care  etc.  before  being  mainstreamed  into formal  education  system.    The  children  in  the  age  group  of  5-8  years  are directly linked to the formal education system through a close coordination with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan  and to ensure the effective enforcement of the provisions of the Child Labour Act and smooth implementation of NCLP Scheme,  a  dedicated  online  portal  named PENCiL  (Platform  for  Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour) is developed in order to make the NCLP successful through better monitoring and implementation ensuring the timely disposal of work with transparency.

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 108 FOR 18.11.2019 REGARDING CHILD LABOUR

## State wise details of main workers in the age group of 5-14 years as per Census 2011:

| Sl. No.   | Name of State/UT                |   No. of main workers in the age group of 5- 14 years |
|-----------|---------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
| 1.        | Andaman & Nicobar Island (U.T.) |                                                   999 |
| 2.        | Andhra Pradesh **               |                                                404851 |
| 3.        | Arunachal Pradesh               |                                                  5766 |
| 4.        | Assam                           |                                                 99512 |
| 5.        | Bihar                           |                                                451590 |
| 6.        | Chandigarh (U.T.)               |                                                  3135 |
| 7.        | Chhattisgarh                    |                                                 63884 |
| 8.        | Dadra & Nagar Haveli (U.T.)     |                                                  1054 |
| 9.        | Daman & Diu (U.T.)              |                                                   774 |
| 10.       | Delhi U.T.                      |                                                 26473 |
| 11.       | Goa                             |                                                  6920 |
| 12.       | Gujarat                         |                                                250318 |
| 13.       | Haryana                         |                                                 53492 |
| 14.       | Himachal Pradesh                |                                                 15001 |
| 15.       | Jammu & Kashmir (U.T.) *        |                                                 25528 |
| 16.       | Jharkhand                       |                                                 90996 |
| 17.       | Karnataka                       |                                                249432 |
| 18.       | Kerala                          |                                                 21757 |
| 19.       | Lakshadweep UT                  |                                                    28 |
| 20.       | Madhya Pradesh                  |                                                286310 |
| 21.       | Maharashtra                     |                                                496916 |
| 22.       | Manipur                         |                                                 11805 |
| 23.       | Meghalaya                       |                                                 18839 |
| 24.       | Mizoram                         |                                                  2793 |
| 25.       | Nagaland                        |                                                 11062 |
| 26.       | Odisha                          |                                                 92087 |
| 27.       | Puducherry U.T.                 |                                                  1421 |
| 28.       | Punjab                          |                                                 90353 |
| 29.       | Rajasthan                       |                                                252338 |
| 30.       | Sikkim                          |                                                  2704 |
| 31.       | Tamil Nadu                      |                                                151437 |
| 32.       | Tripura                         |                                                  4998 |
| 33.       | Uttar Pradesh                   |                                                896301 |
| 34.       | Uttarakhand                     |                                                 28098 |
| 35.       | West Bengal                     |                                                234275 |
|           | Total                           |                                               4353247 |

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA UN STARRED QUESTION NO. 108 FOR 18.11.2019 REGARDING CHILD LABOUR.

Information received from Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) regarding enforcement of the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 in the central sphere.

| Information from Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) in respect of the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986   |   2016-17 |   2017-18 |   2018-19 |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| No. of Inspections Conducted                                                                                                                |      2265 |      3826 |      4586 |
| No. of children rescued                                                                                                                     |         0 |         0 |         0 |
| No. of Violations detected                                                                                                                  |       610 |      1966 |      1325 |
| No. of Prosecutions Launched                                                                                                                |         0 |         0 |        27 |
| No. of Convictions made                                                                                                                     |         0 |         0 |         0 |
| Fine imposed/ fund raised                                                                                                                   |         0 |         0 |         0 |
| No. of convicted persons sent to jail                                                                                                       |         0 |         0 |         0 |

Information received from State Governments regarding enforcement of the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 in State sphere.

| Information from State Governments in respect of the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986   |    2016 |    2017 |    2018 |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------|---------|---------|
| No. of Inspections Conducted                                                                                              |  269451 |  280595 |  338696 |
| No. of children rescued                                                                                                   |    2751 |    3013 |    3650 |
| No. of Violations detected                                                                                                |    4184 |    2171 |    1636 |
| No. of Prosecutions Launched                                                                                              |    1944 |    1677 |    1168 |
| No. of Convictions made                                                                                                   |     700 |     701 |     690 |
| Fine imposed/ fund raised                                                                                                 | 8227400 | 7336036 | 2451390 |
| No. of convicted persons sent to jail                                                                                     |       7 |       9 |       9 |

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