Mumbai, June 24 (IANS). Maharashtra Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare said in the Assembly that the state government is taking necessary and effective steps to stop child marriage. The government aims to bring the child marriage rate in the state below 10 percent in the next five years. Atul Bhatkhalkar raised a question on this topic, while Nana Patole participated in the discussion.
The minister said that according to the National Family Health Survey (2019-21), the rate of child marriage in the country was 23.3 percent, while in Maharashtra it was 21.9 percent. He said that according to the survey conducted in selected districts in 2023-24, the average rate of child marriage in the country has come down to 20.1 percent, while in Maharashtra it has come down to 19.7 percent.
Giving information about the efforts made to stop child marriage in Maharashtra, the Minister said that 187 child marriages were stopped in the year 2018-19, 240 in 2019-20, 519 in 2020-21, 831 in 2021-22 and 930 in 2022-23. 81 FIRs were also registered in the year 2022-23.
He further informed that 1,253 child marriages were stopped in 2023-24 and 1,495 in 2024-25. So far in the current year, 1,434 child marriages have been stopped and cases registered against the culprits.
The Minister said that the action of local administration to stop child marriage is being made more effective and the rate of registering crimes has also increased. In the state, District Task Force, Village Security Committee and Tehsil and Gram Panchayat level arrangements are working actively under the chairmanship of the District Collector. Efforts are underway to further strengthen them.
He said that action is also taken against both the families involved in child marriage, the concerned persons and the cooperating villagers, due to which the prevention efforts are proving to be quite effective.
The minister also said that the Rajasthan government’s initiative to record the date of birth of the bride and groom on wedding invitation cards will be studied. It will be decided in consultation with the Rural Development Department, Law Department and other concerned departments whether such a system can be implemented in Maharashtra or not.
Apart from this, priority is also being given to reaching out to migrant laborers and providing child care centers and children’s homes for their children.
–iams
AMT/DKP
