15-Sep-2022: Union Minister of Home Affairs & Minister of Cooperation, Sh. Amit Shah presided over the signing of historic agreement between Government of India, Government of Assam and representatives of eight Adivasi Groups in New Delhi today
Union Minister of Home Affairs & Minister of Cooperation, Sh. Amit Shah presided over the signing of historic agreement between Government of India, Government of Assam and representatives of eight Adivasi Groups in New Delhi today. The agreement was signed to end decades old crisis of Adivasis and tea garden workers in Assam. Groups that signed the agreement included BCF, ACMA, AANLA, APA, STF, AANLA (FG), BCF (BT) and ACMA (FG).
Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister, Assam and Shri Rameswar Teli, MoS, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Pallab Lochan Das, Member of Parliament (LS), Shri Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, MP (RS), Shri Sanjoy Kishan, Minister, Govt. of Assam, representatives of eight Adivasi Groups along with senior officers from Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Govt. of Assam were present on the occasion.
On the occasion of the historic agreement signed today, the Union Home Minister said that in accordance with the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's vision of a peaceful and prosperous North East, this agreement will prove to be another important milestone in the direction of making North-East extremism free by 2025. He said that after Shri Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, many efforts have been made in the direction of making the Northeast peaceful and developed, the most important of which is to establish peace in the Northeast. Shri Shah said that 1182 cadres of tribal groups of Assam have joined the mainstream by laying down arms.
Shri Amit Shah said that the Ministry of Home Affairs has taken steps to develop the northeast by promoting and developing the rich culture of the region, settling all disputes, establishing peace and accelerating development in the Northeast to make it peaceful and prosperous. He said that due to lack of communication and conflict of interests, different groups took up arms due to which thousands of lives were lost in the encounter between these groups and the state governments and central security forces. The Home Minister said that the Central Government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has decided that before 2024, all border disputes between the North Eastern states and all disputes related to armed groups will be resolved.
The Union Home Minister said that in the last three years, the Government of India, the Government of Assam and other governments of the North East have entered into several agreements among themselves and with various extremist groups. NLFT agreement in 2019, BRU-REANG and Bodo accord in 2020, Karbi Anglong agreement in 2021 and Assam-Meghalaya Inter-State Boundary Agreement in 2022, which resolved around 65 per cent of border disputes between the two states. Shri Amit Shah said that the Government of India and Government of Assam will ensure that the terms of the agreement reached with the Adivasi groups of Assam today are fully complied with. He said that the Government led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has a record that it has fulfilled 93 percent of the promises made under all the agreements signed so far and as a result, peace has been restored in the entire Northeast including Assam.
Shri Amit Shah said that as per today's agreement, it is the responsibility of the Government of India and Assam to fulfill the political, economic and educational aspirations of the Adivasi groups. He said that in the agreement, provisions have been made to protect the social, cultural, ethnic and linguistic identity of Adivasi groups as well as to further strengthen them. The agreement also provides for the establishment of a Tribal Welfare and Development Council with a view to ensure speedy and focused development of tea gardens. Shri Shah said that the agreement also provides for rehabilitation and resettlement of armed cadres and measures for the welfare of tea garden workers. A special development package of Rs.1000 crore (Rs.500 crore each by Government of India and Government of Assam) will be provided over a period of five years for infrastructure development in villages/areas with tribal population.
The Union Home Minister said that since 2014, around 8,000 insurgents have joined the mainstream of society by laying down their arms, expressing their confidence in several steps taken by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for peace and prosperity of the Northeast. The year 2020 recorded the lowest number of insurgency incidents in the last two decades. In comparison to 2014, there has been a 74 percent reduction in the incidents of insurgency in 2021. In the same period, there has been a 60 percent reduction in the casualties of security forces and 89 percent in the number of civilian casualties.
As per the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi of peaceful and prosperous North East, this agreement is another significant milestone in the direction of making north-east insurgency free by 2025.
The agreement provides for setting up of an Adivasi Welfare & Development Council by the Govt. of Assam with the objective of fulfilling the political, economic and educational aspirations; protecting, preserving and promoting social, cultural, linguistic and ethnic identities; and ensuring accelerated and focused development of the Adivasi inhabited villages/ areas as well as tea gardens all over the State. The agreement also provides for rehabilitation and re-settlement of armed cadres and measures for welfare of the tea garden workers. A special development package of Rs.1000 crore (Rs.500 crore each by Govt. of India and Govt. of Assam) will be provided over a period of five years for development of infrastructure in Adivasi inhabited villages/areas.
The Government of India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, is committed to make the North East free from extremism. After Independence, the pace of development in North Eastern States had stopped which were a victim of neglect and politics for a long time and violent separatism was spreading its feet, Shri Modi wrote a new saga of development and peace with the Act East Policy.
25-Jul-2022: Children and Adolescents are Prohibited to Work and Help in Mines
The Government has enacted the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 which came into force w.e.f. 01.09.2016. The Act provides for complete prohibition of work or employment of children below 14 years in any occupation and process and adolescents in the age group of 14 to 18 years in hazardous occupations and processes. The Act also provides for stricter punishment of employers for violation of the Act and made the offence as cognizable. Also, Mines and Collieries have been included in the Schedule - Part A, of the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, wherein adolescents are prohibited to work and children are prohibited to help in mines including mica mines in all states.
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, mandates the appropriate Government to provide free and compulsory elementary education to every child of the age 6 to 14 years in a neighbourhood school. Under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan Scheme, financial assistance is provided to the States and UTs for various activities to reduce the number of drop-outs, which include opening/strengthening of new schools upto senior secondary level, construction of school buildings and additional classrooms, setting-up/upgradation and running of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, setting up of residential schools/hostels, free uniforms, free text books, transport allowance, residential as well as non-residential trainings, seasonal hostels/residential camps etc. Also, mid-day meal is provided under Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) to students at the elementary level of education.
The Government is implementing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to enhance the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing 100 days of wage employment in financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
10-Feb-2020: Government Committed for Eradication of Child Labour
The Government of India is committed for eradication of child labour from the country. The Government has amended the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 and enacted the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 which came into force with effect from 1.9.2016. The Amendment Act, inter-alia, provides for complete prohibition of work or employment of children below 14 years of age in any occupation and process and prohibition of adolescents in the age group of 14 to 18 years in hazardous occupations and processes. The Amendment Act also provides for stricter punishment for employers for violation of the Act and has made the offence as cognizable.
After strengthening the legislative framework through amendment in Child Labour Act, the Government has also framed the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2017 which, inter-alia, specifies the duties and responsibilities of State Governments and District Authorities to ensure effective enforcement of the provisions of the Act. The Government has also devised a Standard Operating Procedure as a ready reckoner for trainers, practitioners and enforcing and monitoring agencies.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment is also implementing the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme since 1988 for rehabilitation of child labourers. Under the NCLP, the children in the age group of 9-14 years are rescued/withdrawn from work and enrolled in the NCLP Special Training Centres, where they are provided with bridge education, vocational training, mid-day meal, stipend, health care, etc. before being mainstreamed into formal education system. The children in the age group of 5-8 years are directly linked to the formal education system through a close coordination with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
The Scheme is regularly monitored and evaluated by the Chairman, Project Director of the Society, District Nodal Officer, Labour Commissioner and Ministry of Labour and Employment.
To ensure the effective enforcement of the provisions of the Child Labour Act and smooth implementation of NCLP Scheme, a dedicated online portal named PENCIL (Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour) is developed in order to make the NCLP successful through better monitoring and implementation. The Portal connects Central Government to State Government(s), District(s), all Project Societies and the general public.
As per the information received from the States/UTs, the total number of children rescued from child labour, rehabilitated and mainstreamed to formal education system, during the last five years is given below:
|
Year |
No. of children |
|
2015-16 |
59076 |
|
2016-17 |
30979 |
|
2017-18 |
45344 |
|
2018-19 |
50284 |
|
2019-20 (till December,2020) |
40050 |
During the current year (2019-20), budgetary provision (Revised Estimate) of Rs. 78.00 crore has been made for the Central Sector Scheme – National Child Labour Project, which aims at rehabilitation of children rescued/withdrawn from work.
Social Security Fund (SSF) is being maintained with Life Insurance Corporation of India and meant for providing only share of Central Government’s contribution in respect of converged Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) schemes.
23-Mar-2022: Naxal Attacks And Casualties
As per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India, subjects of ‘Police and Public Order’ are with the State Governments. However, to address the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) menace holistically, a National Policy and Action Plan was launched in 2015 to address LWE. The Policy envisages a multi-pronged strategy involving security related measures, development interventions, ensuring rights and entitlements of local communities, etc.
On the security front, the Government of India (GoI) supports the LWE affected State Governments by providing Central Armed Police Forces battalions, helicopters, training, funds for modernisation of State police forces, arms and equipment, sharing of intelligence, construction of Fortified Police Stations, etc.
The GoI also provides funds for capacity building of the LWE affected States under various schemes, like Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme and Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS) to fight the LWE menace effectively. Under SIS approved in 2017, projects worth Rs. 371 crore have been sanctioned for strengthening Special Forces (SF) and Special Intelligence Branches (SIB) for LWE operations and 250 Fortified Police Stations worth Rs. 620 crore in vulnerable LWE affected areas. Under SRE scheme, Rs. 2,259 crore has been released to States since 2014-15.
On development front, The GoI has taken several specific initiatives in LWE affected States. Special thrust has been given on expansion of road network, improving telecommunication connectivity, skill development and financial inclusion.
More than 10,300 kms of roads have already been constructed in LWE affected areas under the specific schemes e.g. Road Requirement Plan-I (RRP-I) and Road Connectivity Project for LWE affected areas (RCPLWEA). 2,343 mobile towers were installed under Phase-I and work order has been issued for 2,542 towers under Phase-II of Mobile Connectivity Project for LWE Affected Areas. Rs. 3,078 crore has been released to the Most LWE Affected Districts under the scheme ‘Special Central Assistance (SCA)’ to fill the critical gaps in public infrastructure and services. Special focus has been given on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of the youth. 47 ITIs and 68 Skill Development Centers (SDC) have been approved under the “Skill Development Scheme in 47 LWE Districts affected by LWE”.
For financial inclusion of the local populace in these areas, 1,236 Bank Branches were opened, 1,077 ATMs installed and 14,230 Banking Correspondents made functional in Most LWE Affected Districts in the last 6 years. Further, 4,903 Post Offices have been approved for LWE affected areas in the last 5 years, of which, 3,053 have been made functional.
Apart from the specific schemes for LWE affected areas, the Ministry of Home Affairs works in close coordination with other Ministries for optimum implementation of the flagship schemes of those Ministries in LWE affected areas.
The steadfast implementation of the ‘National Policy and Action Plan to address LWE - 2015’ has resulted in consistent decline in violence. The incidents of LWE violence have reduced by 77% from an all-time high of 2,258 in 2009 to 509 in 2021. Similarly, the resultant deaths (Civilians + Security Forces) have reduced by 85% from an all-time high of 1,005 in 2010 to 147 in 2021. The number of LWE incidents in last five years i.e. 2017 to 2021, year-wise is as follows:
|
Year |
Incidents |
|
2017 |
908 |
|
2018 |
833 |
|
2019 |
670 |
|
2020 |
665 |
|
2021 |
509 |
The details of Left Wing Extremists, security personnel and civilians killed in LWE incidents in the last five years, year-wise is as follows:
|
Year |
Left Wing Extremists Killed |
Security Persons Killed |
Civilians Killed |
|
2017 |
136 |
75 |
188 |
|
2018 |
225 |
67 |
173 |
|
2019 |
145 |
52 |
150 |
|
2020 |
103 |
43 |
140 |
|
2021 |
126 |
50 |
97 |
The geographical spread of the violence has significantly reduced over the years and now only 191 Police Stations of 46 districts have reported LWE related violence in 2021 as compared to a high of 465 Police Stations of 96 districts in 2010. In 2014, LWE violence was reported from 333 Police Stations from 70 districts. Decline in geographical spread is also reflected in the reduced number of districts covered under the SRE Scheme. The number of SRE districts reduced from 126 to 90 in April 2018 and further to 70 in July 2021. Similarly, the number of districts contributing approximately 90% of the LWE violence, categorised as Most LWE Affected Districts, came down to 30 from 35 in 2018 and further to 25 in 2021.