46198 child labourers have been rescued from work, under the Child Labourers Rescued Rehabilitated and Mainstreamed Under National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme During the year 2019-20 till date, government said.
Total 175096 child labourers rescued, rehabilitated and mainstreamed during last four years, it said.
“Since child labour is a result of socio-economic conditions, a definite timeline for elimination of child labour cannot be ascertained.” Govt. said.
As per 2011 Census, the number of main workers in the age group of 5-14 years in the country is 43.53 lakh which shows a decline from 57.79 lakh as per 2001 Census, Santosh Kumar Gangwar Union Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on March 2, 2020.
The details of number of children rescued/withdrawn from work, rehabilitated and mainstreamed under National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme during the last three years and current year are as under:
| Year | Number of children rescued/withdrawn from work, rehabilitated and mainstreamed under National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme |
| 2016-17 | 30979 |
| 2017-18 | 47635 |
| 2018-19 | 50284 |
| 2019-20 (till date) | 46198 |
Subsequent to the amendment in Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986, Government has framed Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017.
The Govt. is implementing the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme 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 Under the NCLP Scheme, children in the age group of 9-14 years are rescued/withdrawn from work and enrolled in the NCLP Special Training Centres, where they are provided with bridge education, vocational training, midday meal, stipend, health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), Govt. earlier said.
The Government has amended the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 and enacted Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 which inter-alia covers complete prohibition on employment or work of children below 14 years of age in all occupations and processes; linking the age of the prohibition of employment with the age for free and compulsory education under Right to Education Act, 2009; prohibition on employment of adolescents ( 14 to 18 years of age) in hazardous occupations or processes and making stricter punishment for the employers contravening the provisions of the Act.
Government said that Child Labour is an outcome of various social-economic problems such as poverty, economic backwardness and illiteracy. Government is following a holistic and multi-pronged strategy for elimination of child labour completely.
