Government Enhances Programs for the Rehabilitation of Child Labourers

Child Labour is an outcome of various social economic problems such as poverty, economic backwardness, lack of access to basic services, illiteracy, etc.

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Implementation of National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme for rehabilitation of child labour, which has now been subsumed under Samagara Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Scheme with effect from 01.04.2021.

Ministry of Labour & Employment has framed model State Action Plan enumerating action points to be taken by respective State Governments for eradication of child labour.

Government has also devised a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) as a ready reckoner for trainers, practitioners and enforcing and monitoring agencies. The Ministry of Labour & Employment issues directions / advisories from time to time for strict enforcements of the Act.