Child marriages prevalent but go unregistered: Govt

The government today admitted that child marriages are prevalent across the country but they often went unregistered.

"Sample surveys on health indicators by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and by Registrar General of India suggest prevalence of child marriages which are not registered," Women and Child Development minister Krishna Tirath told Lok Sabha in a written reply.

Tirath shared the National Crime Records Bureau data as per which only 60 incidents of child marriage took place in 2010, while only 113 such marriages were recorded in 2011.

She said the Annual Health Survey 2010-11 has covered the states of Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

As per the survey, during 2007-09 marriages among females below legal age (18 years) was 10.2 per cent in Assam, 20.2 per cent in Bihar, 6 per cent in Chhattisgarh, 17.6 per cent in Jharkhand, 12.5 per cent in Madhya Pradesh, 5.9 per cent in Odisha, 21.9 per cent in Rajasthan, 8.9 per cent in Uttar Pradesh and 3 per cent in Uttarakhand, the minister said.
In response to another question, Tirath said except Jammu and Kashmir, all states have set up Child Welfare Committee.