509% rise in cases under child labour law: Study by Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation

There has been a 509% increase in the number of cases registered under the child labour law since 2017, according to a research study on child labour by Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation (KSCF).

KSCF has carried out the study ‘Child labour know more' with the objective of identifying gaps in the implementation of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 and strengthening national efforts towards elimination of all forms of child labour by the year 2025 as per the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a press release said.

"Since 2017, an increase of 509% in the number of cases registered under the child labour law has been recorded as per a study based on information sought under the RTI Act," the release said.

However, it said, a comparison between this data, the figures provided by the National Crime Records Bureau across three years and the Census of India 2011 brings out the "massive disparity" between the number of working children in India and the number of cases, registered and prosecuted.

RTI replies from across the country revealed that no case of child labour was registered in Haryana, Kerala, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh in 2017. Rajasthan and Bihar contributed 84% of the total cases registered, it said.

"Another glaring deficiency in the policy regime for abolition of child labour is non-disbursal or disbursal with huge delays of monetary compensation and the yawning gaps in efficient delivery of rehabilitation measures," the release said.

The report also provides a range of recommendations to address the gaps in protection, prosecution, rehabilitation and prevention of child labour in the country.