Lok Sabha Question No. 934 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-08
Subject: Fight against Child Labour
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: M.K. Vishnu Prasad, Mimi Chakraborty

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 934

TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.02.2021

## FIGHT AGAINST CHILD LABOUR

## 934.  DR. VISHNU PRASAD M.K.:

- MS. MIMI CHAKRABORTY:

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

- (a)whether fight against child labour needs to be mobilised further into a movement;
- (b)if so, the steps taken in this regard to effectively curb the problem;
- (c)whether the Government has also any data on increasing number of child  labourers  in  the  country  during  the  last  six  months  of  2020 thereof; and
- (d)if  so,  the  plan  of  the  Government  to  rescue  and  rehabilitate  the children forced into child labour during this period?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b): The Government is committed to eliminate the child labour in  the  country.  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 Contd..2/-

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.

(c): Labour  being  in  the  concurrent  list,  enforcement  of  the provisions  of  the  Act  is  the  responsibility  of  both  central  and  state governments  in  their  respective  sphere.  As  such,  data  regarding increase/decrease of child labour  is not centrally maintained.

(d): The Government has been implementing the National Child Labour  Project  (NCLP)  Scheme  for  the  eradication  of  child  labour  in the country. 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  (STCs)  under  the  District  Project  Societies, 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 Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

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