The Union Government will help build infrastructure to combat child trafficking in the border areas. The victim girls will be produced before the CWC (Child Welfare Committee) to declare fit facility for providing sponsorship as per the Mission Vatsalya Scheme guideline.
Mission Vatsalya is the central scheme focused on the protection and welfare of children.
As part of this initiative, the Ministry of Women and Child Development will provide financial assistance to States and Union Territories (UT) along the border areas to set up homes to protect and rehabilitate trafficking victims from neighbouring countries.
These homes would provide shelter, food, clothing, counselling, primary health facilities and other daily needs for the trafficking victims, most of whom are children and minors. India is a source as well as a destination country for the trafficking of persons.
As per the officials, the source countries are Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar, from where women and girls are getting trafficked in the guise of providing a better life, jobs and a good living condition in India. A majority of them are minor girls/women of younger age, who are, after their arrival in India, sold and forced into commercial sex work.
These girls/ women often reach major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, etc., from where they are taken out of the country, mainly in the middle east and Southeast Asia.
This is the reason why the bordering States of these countries need to be more vigilant and have adequate facilities to provide relief and rehabilitation services to the victims of trafficking.
As of now, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has been providing funding to all States/ UTs under Nirbhaya Fund to set up/strengthen Anti Human Trafficking Units (AHTUS) in every district of the country. In addition, funding has also been provided for AHTUS in Border Guarding Forces such as BSF and SSB. As of date, 788 AHTUS, including 30 in Border guarding forces, are functional. Now, the Government has decided to provide financial assistance to the States/ UTs in Border areas to set up Protection and Rehabilitation Homes for the victims of trafficking, particularly for minor girls and young women. The homes will provide services like shelter, food, clothing, counselling, primary health facilities and other daily requirements.
Further, as per section 51 of the JJ Act, 2015 (as amended in 2021), (1) the Board or the Committee recognise a facility being run by a Governmental organisation or a voluntary or non-governmental organisation registered under any law for the time being in force to be fit to temporarily take the responsibility of a child for a specific purpose after a due inquiry regarding the suitability of the facility and the organisation to take care of the child in such manner as may be prescribed and (2) the Board or the Committee may withdraw the recognition under sub-section (1) for reasons to be recorded in writing.
