Bhubaneswar, 2 December (H.S.): The Odisha government is implementing a comprehensive State Action Plan involving nine departments to eradicate child labour across the state, Labour and Employees’ State Insurance Minister Ganesh Ram Singkhuntia informed the Assembly on Tuesday.
Responding to a question raised by MLA Tankadhar Tripathy, the Minister said the action plan focuses on coordinated inspections, rescue operations, awareness campaigns, and capacity-building programmes for enforcement officials.
Singkhuntia noted that the last official survey on child labour was conducted in 1997, which identified 2,15,222 child labourers in Odisha. He added that district-level inspections—mandated under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986—continue to be a key mechanism for identifying and rescuing children engaged in hazardous and non-hazardous work.
Reaffirming the government’s commitment, the Minister said Odisha is taking all necessary steps to strengthen monitoring, enforcement, and rehabilitation measures to eliminate child labour in the state.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda
