← All questionsGS4 · 2020 · Case Studies — Public Sector ·Minor Girls Trafficked to Cotton Farms (Case)
QUESTION 9
GS4
20 marks

Rampura, a remote district inhabited by a tribal population, is marked by extreme backwardness and abject poverty. Agriculture is the mainstay of the local population, though it is subsistence due to the very small landholdings. There is insignificant industrial or mining activity. Even the targeted welfare programs have inadequately benefited the tribal population. In this restrictive scenario, the youth has begun to migrate to other states to supplement the family income. Plight of minor girls is that their parents are persuaded by labour contractors to send them to work in the Bt Cotton farms of a nearby state. The soft fingers of the minor girls are well suited for plucking the cotton. The inadequate living and working conditions in these farms have caused serious health issues for the minor girls. NGOs in the districts of domicile and the cotton farms appear to be compromised and have not effectively espoused the twin issues of child labour and development of the area. You are appointed as the District Collector of Rampura. Identify the ethical issues involved. Which specific steps will you initiate to ameliorate the conditions of minor girls of your district and to improve the overall economic scenario in the district?

WRITE IN
14 min
250 words

What the examiner wants

As Collector of a poor tribal district, protect minor girls sent to cotton farms and improve the local economy.

Case studyName the stakeholders and the issues, weigh the options, and say what you would do and why.

Demand-wise check

  1. 1Ethical issues: child labour and trafficking, health, poverty, compromised NGOs, failure of welfare≈50 words
  2. 2Protection: identify and rescue, coordinate with destination state, prosecute contractors, register migrants, schools and hostels, counselling≈50 words
  3. 3Economy: MGNREGA, SHGs, skilling, forest produce value chains, irrigation, welfare delivery, awareness≈50 words
  4. 4Monitoring with gram sabhas≈50 words

Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.

Answer plan

IssuesImmediate protectionLong-term economic stepsMonitoringConclusion

Where marks usually go

  • Only rescue without livelihood
  • Ignoring the inter-state angle

Draw this

  • Two tracks: protect now, prevent later

Value addition

  • LawChild and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (amended 2016) bans work by children under 14 and hazardous work under 18.Child Labour Act, 1986
  • ReportStudies on Gujarat's Bt cotton seed farms found many child workers, mostly girls, from tribal Rajasthan.India Committee of the Netherlands / Glocal Research reports

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