Lok Sabha Question No. 1522 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-01
Subject: Child Labour
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Nihal Chand Chauhan, Saikia Dilip, Ramesh Chander Kaushik

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1522

TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.07.2019

## CHILD LABOUR

†1522. SHRI NIHAL CHAND:

SHRI DILIP SAIKIA:

SHRI RAMESH CHANDER KAUSHIK:

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

- (a)whether the Government has taken cognizance of the practice of child labour still going on in various parts of the country inspite of a ban on it and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)the  details  of  legal  provision  along  with  the  number  of  cases  of  child labour  unearthed  in  the  country  during  the  last  five  years  including action  taken  by  the  Government  against  the  guilty  persons  involved in the  practice of  child  labour  and  the  number  of  guilty  persons  awarded punishment so far;
- (c)the effective steps taken by the Government to check child labour in the country; and
- (d)whether  the  Government  proposes  a  more  effective  law  for  complete eradication of child labour and if so, the details thereof and if not, the
- reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR GANGWAR)

- (a) to (c): Child Labour is an outcome of various socio-economic problems such  as  poverty,  economic  backwardness  and  illiteracy.  The  Central Government has taken cognizance of the practice of child labour still going on in various parts of the country in spite of a ban on it and is committed to eradicate the problem of child labour from all parts of the country.

For elimination of child labour, the Government has amended the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 and enacted Child Labour (Prohibition  &  Regulation)  Amendment  Act,  2016  which  came  into  force w.e.f.  1.9.2016.  The  Amendment  Act  inter  alia  provides  for  complete prohibition  of  work  or  employment  of  children  below  14  years  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 strict punishment for employers for violation of the Act and has made the offence cognizable.

The number  of violations detected during the inspections conducted,  the  number  of  prosecutions  launched  and  the  number  of convictions made in the last five years in respect of the Child & Adolescent Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 is given hereunder:-

| Year   | Violations   |   Prosecutions | Convictions   |
|--------|--------------|----------------|---------------|
| 2014   | 5595 2923    |            998 |               |
| 2015   | 4319         |           2481 | 748           |
| 2016   | 3993         |           1730 | 677           |
| 2017   | 1691         |           1276 | 695           |
| 2018   | 942          |            624 | 586           |
| Total  | 16540        |           9034 | 3704          |

The Government is also implementing the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme since 1988 for rehabilitation of child labour.Under the NCLP Scheme, 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.  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  (SSA).    To  ensure  effective enforcement  of  the  provisions  of  the  Child  Labour  Act  and  smooth implementation  of  the  National  Child  Labour  Project  (NCLP)  Scheme,  a separate online portal PENCIL (Platform for Effective  Enforcement for  No Child Labour) has been launched w.e.f. 26.9.2017.

- (d): To make the law more effective for complete eradication of child labour the Government amended the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 through the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016  which  came  into  force  w.e.f.  1.9.2016  which  inter alia provides for:-
- 1)  Complete prohibition of employment of children below 14 years.
- 2)  Prohibition  of  employment  of  adolescents  (aged  15-18  years)  in hazardous occupations
- 3)  Enhancement of penalty for contravention of the provisions of the Act.
- 4)  Employment of children in contravention of the Act, made  a cognizable offence.

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