Drive launched in all districts of Jharkhand to make villages free from child marriage

Ranchi, Dec 22 (PTI) In line with the Centre’s ‘Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat’ (BVMB) campaign, child protection organisation Just Rights for Children (JRC) on Monday announced the launch of an intensive intervention programme across all 24 districts of Jharkhand to make villages free from child marriage.

The initiative is part of a nationwide drive by JRC to make one lakh villages across the country child marriage free within a year.

According to National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-V, prevalence of child marriages in the state is much higher at 32.2 per cent in sharp contrast to the national average of 23.3 per cent.

"Giving a powerful new momentum to India’s goal to become child marriage free by 2030, JRC has announced an intensive drive to make one lakh villages child marriage free within the next one year," the organisation said in a statement.

The organisation is a network of over 250 NGO partners across the country, including 22 partners operating in the eastern state.

"Out of these, villages from all 24 districts of Jharkhand have been chosen for intensive intervention," the statement said.

The announcement coincides with the first anniversary of the government of India's BVMB campaign, when the government launched a 100-day action plan.

JRC claimed that it had prevented 16,348 child marriages in the state in last year alone.

At the national level, the organisation claimed to have stopped more than one lakh child marriages during the same period.

According to JRC, districts such as Jamtara, Deoghar, Godda, Giridih, Pakur, Dumka and Koderma have child marriage prevalence rates of over 40 per cent.

Sahibganj, Hazaribagh, Palamu, Latehar, Chatra and Garhwa record prevalence between 30 and 39.9 per cent, while four other districts report rates higher than the national average.

JRC founder Bhuwan Ribhu said, "The role of community groups, faith leaders, panchayats and citizens is central to building a child marriage-free India. The BVMB campaign has become a model for the world. It also stands as a celebration of our collective work to end this crime against children." He added that in 2024, more than one lakh child marriages were stopped.

"Next year, we pledge to make one lakh villages child marriage-free so that every kid has opportunities and a secure future. This momentum matters as India moves toward the larger vision of a Viksit Bharat," he added.

JRC has been using the 3P model of Protection, Prevention and Prosecution to stop child marriages. It claimed that it has prevented 4,35,205 child marriages between April 1, 2023 and November 14, 2025.

The action plan, to be implemented at the state, district and village levels, is divided into three phases.

The first phase will focus on awareness generation in schools, colleges and educational institutions. The second phase will target religious institutions and marriage service providers, while the third phase will emphasise community-level engagement through gram panchayats and municipal wards.

The state government has directed field functionaries and officials from the health, panchayati raj, rural development, school education and higher education departments to actively participate in the campaign to ensure its effective implementation. PTI NAM MNB