New Delhi: The allocation under the National Children’s Workers Project (NCLP), the Ministry of Manpower and Employment Schemes, intended to save and rehabilitate child laborers, has declined less than half in the past two years, the government’s response to the question by Rajya BJP Sabha MP, Syed Zafar Islam, has shown.
While the ministry recognizes that child labor has not been eradicated, and it runs the NCLP scheme to save and rehabilitate children under the age of 14 by connecting them with their education system and skills, its submissions show that the allocation of funds to the scheme dropped it from Rs 90 Crore in 2018-19 to More than Rs 41 Crore at 2020-21.
The ministry said that even the level of confidence based on the Adolescent Children and Labor Law (Banang) Act, 1986, in accordance with the 2019 NCRB data, remained gloomy.
In 2019, of 770 cases registered, 684 cases were charged and only 88 were accused of being punished.
The highest number of cases is registered in Telangana.
In 314 cases, only 32 were accused of being punished.
Karnataka, Assam and Gujarat were in line with 83, 68 and 64 cases.
While the cost sheet was released in 58 cases in Karnataka, 63 cases in Gujarat and 37 in Assam, the number of confidence was zero in Assam, eight in Karnataka and four in Gujarat.
Responding to separate questions, the government said 645 orphans between April and June 28 this year was due to Covid-19.
The highest number of 158 orphans at Uttar Pradesh, was attended by Andhra Pradesh at 119, according to government data.