(a) whether the Government proposes to bring any new scheme/plan for eradication
of child labour completely;
(b) if so, the details thereof alongwith the funds alloeated for the purpose; and
(c) the time by which said scheme/plan is likely to come into force?
MINISTER OF THE STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
(SHRI OSCAR FERNANDES)
(a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 201 FOR ANSWER ON
27.08.07 REGARDING `ERADICATION OF CHILD LABOUR` BY SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB.
(a) to (c) Government is already implementing the National Child Labour Project Scheme for
the elimination of child labour in 250 districts of 20 States of the country. Under the
Scheme, children working in notified hazardous occupations and processes are withdrawn
from work and put in special schools where they are provided with accelerated education,
vocational training, midday meal, stipend, health care facilities etc. before they are
mainstreamed to regular education. Government has recently banned employment of children
as domestic workers and in dhabas, hotels, motels, tea-shops, restaurants, resorts, spas
etc. Considering the magnitude of the problem, Government is following a sequential
approach of focussing on children working in hazardous occupations first and then covering
children working in non-hazardous occupations.
For the 11th Plan, Government has proposed an expansion of the scheme to cover 600 districts
of the country with additional components such as provision of residential schools for
migrant child labour, tracking and monitoring system, vocational training for adolescents,
award schemes, more intensive awareness generation campaigns etc. A view will be taken on
the proposal after the existing scheme has been evaluated by an independent agency and a
country wide survey is conducted for enumerating children working in hazardous occupations
and processes. The survey is expected to commence shortly and will take about eighteen to
twenty months.