March 14, 2022
Kalyan Banerjee asks a Supplementary Question on measures to stop child labour, which is increasing
Sir, I have gone through the written reply given by the hon. Minister. I must say with respect that it is really
an evasive reply. Just now he said that the data is dynamic. Somewhere it is static. Then, he has not said where that data is. Now, I tell you the data. One out of ten children is in child labour in India. It is rising for the first time in 20 years. Nine million more children are at risk of being forced into child labour by the end of 2022 as a result of the pandemic. The closure of 1.5 million schools due to the pandemic and lockdowns in India has impacted 247 million children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools, and added to the risk of many of them slipping into child labour and unsafe migration. I understand that there are certain Acts. No doubt, if these Acts are fully implemented, these children cannot go into it, but these children also need to earn a livelihood, at least, for their parents. Now, what is the scheme? What do you want to do? If you want to stop child labour and want that they should not
go to job at all, then you have to give substitutes to the families of those children. What have you done for that purpose? This is what I would like to know from the hon. Minister.
