In Uttar Pradesh, the effort to shield children from labour, trafficking, early marriage and sexual abuse has grown into a coordinated, fast-moving campaign. The state government has put its administrative machinery firmly behind the cause, while a wide alliance of civil society groups has given the drive real reach on the ground. The pay-off is visible: over the past year, thousands of children have been pulled to safety.
The Network Behind the Drive
At the centre of this work is Just Rights for Children (JRC), described as the country's largest child rights network. It operates with more than 250 civil society organisations across India and 29 partner bodies in Uttar Pradesh alone. Working alongside various state government departments and law enforcement agencies, the network has mounted a broad campaign targeting child marriage, child labour, child trafficking and child sexual abuse.
Rescue Operations Roughly Doubled
The numbers show how sharply the pace has picked up. During 2025-26, JRC carried out 3,805 operations with the state government's support to free trafficking victims and child labourers — up from just 1,904 such operations in 2023-24. These direct interventions freed more than 5,000 children and led to 919 FIRs against the accused. By contrast, only 261 FIRs were registered in such cases in 2023-24, underscoring how much enforcement has intensified. Over the same stretch, the labour department issued challans in more than 2,552 child labour cases.
Marriages Halted, Survivors Supported
Child marriage was the second major front. By building grassroots coordination with local administration, Anganwadi workers and police, the network managed to stop 17,303 child marriages. In most of these cases, the weddings were called off after written affidavits were obtained from the families of both the bride and the groom. The rest required firmer measures: 8 child marriages were blocked through court injunction orders, 30 through police intervention and 19 by registering FIRs. The network also helped 1,076 children secure justice and protection in cases of child sexual abuse.
Training Officers, Preventing Risk
These results rest not only on raids but also on strengthening the system itself. A key reason for the government's growing resolve and quicker response has been the capacity-building programmes run for law enforcement officials. In 2025-26, JRC gave special training to 1,585 law enforcement officers in the state. Alongside tougher enforcement, the network pushed prevention too, helping link 6,05,585 vulnerable and at-risk families to various social welfare schemes — so that poverty does not push children towards work in the first place.
The Big Bet on 'Safe Child Villages'
The state's most ambitious step looks to the future: setting up 'Surakshit Bal Gram', or Safe Child Villages. Praising the push to rid Uttar Pradesh of child labour, JRC founder Bhuvan Ribhu said, ‘The state government deserves heartfelt congratulations for the firm resolve it has shown in committing to make Uttar Pradesh child-labour-free by 2027. A developed India can only be built when every child is educated, safe and empowered. The more than 20,000 Surakshit Bal Gram being established with the state government's support will be a powerful example of how much sweeping change can be brought about through the coordinated efforts of the whole government and the whole society.’
He added, ‘These child villages will become an ideal model not just for India but for the entire world, showing how, through people's participation, we can keep every child in school, keep them free from child labour, and ensure the opportunity to develop their full potential. Trafficking of children for child labour is fast taking the shape of organised crime. At such a time, this decisive step by the Uttar Pradesh government under the leadership of the honourable Yogi ji is an organised and powerful answer to this challenge — one that is needed most today.’
