Assam to launch 'State Mission' against child marriage, put end to the menace by 2026

Finance Minister Ajanta Neog said curbing child marriages in the state has not only become a necessity, but an urgency, too

Weeks after launching a "crackdown" against child marriage, the BJP-led government in Assam on Thursday announced a Rs 200 crore mission to end the menace by 2026.

The mission was announced in the state's annual budget, which was presented in the Assembly by state Finance Minister Ajanta Neog.

"Child marriage has been one of the prominent reasons for our high Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR). Curbing child marriages in the state has not only become a necessity but an urgency. Our government has launched a mass drive against the violators of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) 2006 earlier this year. To sustain the efforts, our government is committed to launch this state mission with a target of making Assam free of incidents of child marriage by the end of year 2026," Neog said in her budget speech.

Neog said the mission will be set up at the Women and Child Development Department with allocation of Rs 200 crore.

The budget speech, however, said Assam's MMR has come down from 237 in 2014-16 to 195 in 2018-20 and IMR from 49 in 2014 to 36 in 2020.

Also Read | Humane approach should be adopted in dealing with child marriages: Experts in Assam

Over 3,400 persons have been arrested across Assam since February 3 this year as part of a "crackdown" launched by the state police against child marriage. The drive was launched following a decision of the state Cabinet on January 23.

The state home department on March 13 informed the Assembly that Assam reported 4,670 incidents of child marriage since April 2021 and 3,483 persons have been arrested so far under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006. The department further said that a total of 1,182 persons are still in judicial custody while 2,253 others have been released on bail.

According to the details furnished by the state home department, Dhubri district topped the list in terms of child marriage cases and arrests, followed by Kokrajhar, South Salmara, Udalguri, Bongaigaon, Hojai, Cachar, Karimganj, and Morigaon districts. The state government said although the "crackdown" is not targeted against any community, child marriage has been found rampant in the districts with majority population of Bengali-speaking Muslims. Child marriage is also a concern in areas inside tea estates and in tribal communities.

NGOs and child rights activists, however, said that lack of schools, poverty and poor awareness were major reasons resulting in child marriages, particularly in the 'char' or riverine areas, mostly inhibited by the Muslims.