Lok Sabha Question No. 139 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-02-03
Subject: Child Labour Cases
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Diya Kumari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 139 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.02.2020

## CHILD LABOUR CASES

139. MS. DIYA KUMARI:

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

- (a)the statistics of child labour cases;
- (b)the  details  of  child  labourers  rescued  during  the  last  three  years, particularly in hazardous factories;
- (c)the number of children rehabilitated under the National Child Labour
- Projects Scheme during the last three years, State/UT-wise; and
- (d)the  steps  taken/being  taken  by the  Government  to  eradicate  child
- labour in the country?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (d):  As  per  Census 2011, there were  43.53 lakh  main workers in India in the age group  of 5-14 years.

As  per  the  information  received  from  the  States/UTs  ,  the number  of  children  rescued  from  child  labour,  rehabilitated  and mainstreamed to formal education system, State/UT wise, during the last three years  is given at Annexure-I.

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.

After strengthening the legislative framework through amendment in Child Labour Act, the Government has framed the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017 which interalia specifies the duties and responsibilities of State Governments and District Authorities to ensure effective enforcement of the provisions of  the  Act.  The  Government  has  also  devised  a  Standard  Operating Procedure as a ready reckoner for trainers, practitioners and enforcing and monitoring agencies.

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 Centers (STCs), 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.

The Scheme is regularly  monitored  and  evaluated    by  the Chairman,    Project  Director  of  the  Society,  District  Nodal  Officer, Labour Commissioner and Ministry of Labour and Employment.

To ensure the effective enforcement of the provisions of the Child  Labour  Act  and  smooth  implementation  of  NCLP  Scheme,  a Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour) is developed in order to make the NCLP successful through better monitoring and implementation.  The Government(s), dedicated online portal named PENCIL (Platform for Portal connects Central Government to State District(s), all Project Societies and the General public.

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ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.139 FOR 03.02.2020 BY Ms. DIYA KUMARI REGARDING 'CHILD LABOUR CASES'.

Number of children who were rescued/withdrawn from work, rehabilitated and mainstreamed under National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme during the last three years, State-wise:

|   Sl. No. | State          |   2016-17 |   2017-18 |   2018-19 |
|-----------|----------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|         1 | Andhra Pradesh |       814 |       203 |       778 |
|         2 | Assam          |       434 |       915 |      4562 |
|         3 | Bihar          |         0 |      2800 |         0 |
|         4 | Gujarat        |         0 |       187 |       101 |
|         5 | Haryana        |        40 |         0 |       171 |
|         6 | Jharkhand      |       334 |      2014 |      1225 |
|         7 | Karnataka      |       681 |       679 |       763 |
|         8 | Madhya Pradesh |      4442 |     11400 |      4910 |
|         9 | Maharashtra    |      1692 |      5250 |      8122 |
|        10 | Nagaland       |         0 |       197 |       111 |
|        11 | Punjab         |       592 |       994 |       915 |
|        12 | Rajasthan      |       630 |       105 |         0 |
|        13 | Tamil Nadu     |      2850 |      2855 |      2534 |
|        14 | Telangana      |      1431 |      2137 |       935 |
|        15 | Uttar Pradesh  |      3066 |         0 |      8020 |
|        16 | West Bengal    |     13973 |     17899 |     17137 |

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