(a) whether there is a system of engaging child labourers in different parts of the country especially in the factories of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country including Jammu & Kashmir;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government has set responsibility of any agency in this regard; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
(SHRI BANDARU DATTATREYA)
(a) & (b): Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 prohibits the employment of children below 14 years of age in certain occupations and processes and regulates the working condition of children in employment where they are not prohibited. As per data of Census 2011, there were 43.53 lakh working children in the age group of 5-14 years in the country including a figure of 25,528 from Jammu & Kashmir.
(c) & (d): Central Government is the appropriate authority for enforcement of the Act in respect of Central Government establishments, railways, major ports, mines or oil fields and in all other cases, State Government is the appropriate authority for implementation under the Act. As per the Act, the appropriate Government may appoint Inspectors for securing compliance with the provisions of the Act. Further, the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012 as introduced in Rajya Sabha, empowers the appropriate Government to confer such powers and impose such duties on a District Magistrate as may be necessary, to ensure that the provisions of this Act are properly carried out and the District Magistrate may specify the officer, subordinate to him, who shall exercise all or any of the powers, and perform all or any of the duties, so conferred or imposed.
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