Lok Sabha Question No. 1963 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-13
Subject: Data on Child Labour
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Vijay Baghel, Upendra Singh Rawat

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1963

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 13.03.2023

## DATA ON CHILD LABOUR

1963.  SHRI VIJAY BAGHEL:

SHRI UPENDRA SINGH RAWAT:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  do  not  have  any  mechanism  to  keep  a check on child labour and also keep data on child labour, if so, the details thereof,  if  not  the  reasons  therefor;
- (b) the fresh steps taken by the Government for strict implementation of the Child Labour (Prohibition  and Regulation) Act, 1986;
- (c) whether despite the complete ban on child  labour by the Government,  crores  of  children  are  still  employed  and  working  in various sectors and if so, the details thereof during the last three years, State/ UT-wise and sector-wise;
- (d) whether  cases  of  employment  of  child  labour  by  several  persons and  violation  of  relevant  laws  have  come  to  light  and  if  so,  the details thereof for the said  period,  State-wise;
- (e) whether the Government has undertaken any review with regard to child labour, if so, the details thereof;  and
- (f)the number of child labour cases reported in the country especially in Uttar Pradesh during the above-said period and the action taken thereon?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

- (a)  to   (f):   The  Government  is  pursuing  multipronged  strategy  to eliminate child labour and has taken comprehensive measures which include legislative measures, rehabilitation strategy, providing right to free education and general socio-economic development. The details of  statutory  and  legislative  measures,  rehabilitation  strategy  and education are as under:

- (i) Enactment of the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition & Regulation)  Act,  1986.      The  Act    inter-alia  covers  complete prohibition of work or employment of children below 14 years of age  in any  occupation  or  process  and  prohibition of adolescents in the age group of 14 to 18 years in hazardous occupations  and  processes.    It  also  provides  for  stricter punishment  for  employers  for  violation  of  the  Act  and  made the offence as cognizable.
- (ii) Framing of the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)  Rules,  1988.  The  Rules  inter  -alia,  provide  for District  Nodal  Officer  (DNO)  and  Task  Force  at  district  level under chairpersonship of District Magistrate to ensure that the provisions of the Act are properly enforced.
- (iii) Framing of model State Action Plan enumerating action points to be taken by respective State Governments.
- (iv) Implementation of National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme for rehabilitation of child labour, which has now been subsumed under Samagara Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Scheme.

As  per  'Crime  in  India'  a  publication  of  National  Crime Records Bureau, 772, 476 and 613 number of cases were registered during calendar years 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively under Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 in the country. State-wise details are at Annexure.

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ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  TO  (f)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1963 FOR 13.03.2023 BY  SHRI VIJAY BAGHEL AND SHRI UPENDRA SINGH RAWAT REGARDING DATA ON CHILD LABOUR

Number  of  cases  registered  under  Child  and  Adolescent  Labour  (Prohibition  and Regulation) Act, 1986, State / Union Territories -wise:

| Sl. No.   | State/UT          |   2019 |   2020 |   2021 |
|-----------|-------------------|--------|--------|--------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh    |      2 |     37 |     12 |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh |      0 |      1 |      0 |
| 3         | Assam             |     68 |     40 |     78 |
| 4         | Bihar             |     15 |      3 |     14 |
| 5         | Chhattisgarh      |      2 |      0 |      0 |
| 6         | Gujarat           |     64 |     39 |     40 |
| 7         | Haryana           |     11 |      1 |     12 |
| 8         | Himachal Pradesh  |      0 |      1 |      0 |
| 9         | Jharkhand         |     18 |     27 |      5 |
| 10        | Karnataka         |     83 |     54 |     58 |
| 11        | Kerala            |      2 |      0 |      3 |
| 12        | Madhya Pradesh    |      4 |      1 |      5 |
| 13        | Maharashtra       |     53 |     29 |     57 |
| 14        | Meghalaya         |      2 |      0 |      0 |
| 15        | Odisha            |      0 |      0 |      6 |
| 16        | Punjab            |      8 |     11 |      8 |
| 17        | Rajasthan         |     48 |     30 |     19 |
| 18        | Tamil Nadu        |      3 |      2 |     26 |
| 19        | Telangana         |    314 |    147 |    224 |
| 20        | Tripura           |      0 |      1 |      0 |
| 21        | Uttar Pradesh     |      9 |      1 |      1 |
| 22        | Uttarakhand       |     27 |     41 |     25 |
| 23        | West Bengal       |      7 |      3 |      2 |
| 24        | Chandigarh        |      0 |      1 |      7 |
| 25        | Daman &Diu        |      2 |      0 |      0 |
| 26        | Delhi             |     30 |      6 |     11 |
|           | TOTAL             |    772 |    476 |    613 |

Source: Crime in India, National Crime Records Bureau

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