Rehab right in trafficking bill

TT, New Delhi, Oct. 25: A final draft of Maneka Gandhi's ambitious anti-trafficking bill has been sent to the cabinet, with a wider definition of the term that proposes rehabilitation as a right for survivors.

In the earlier drafts, which have seen five reviews by the women and child development ministry and concerned departments, the definition was restricted to trafficking done for the purposes of labour and prostitution only. They had drawn much flak for absence of operational details and procedures and a functional definition of the term itself.

The final version of the draft Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection, and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2016, finalised on September 20 after an inter-ministerial consultation, is believed to have plugged several holes.

Sources said the wider definition of trafficking included buying and selling of people, trafficking that causes pregnancy and grievous hurt of the survivor, trafficking for forced or bonded labour as well as the administration of narcotic drugs, alcohol, psychotropic substances, chemical substances or hormones for the purpose of attaining sexual maturity and exploitation.

The bill has proposed that all these offences be punishable with jail terms up to life imprisonment.

According to the cabinet note attached with the draft, the bill has proposed closure of places used for exploitation and time-bound trials of cases in trafficking courts. It has mooted the creation of an institutional framework at the national, state and district levels to curb trafficking.

The draft bill has also pitched for cross-border monitoring and coordination between states and neighbouring countries to check such activity. Other suggestions include creation of district bodies for rehabilitation of victims, a support and follow-up system for survivors and a fund for their exclusive use.

Ministry sources said the draft bill was sent to the cabinet earlier this month. The plan is to introduce the bill in the winter session of Parliament.

According to data available with the National Crime Records Bureau, there were 6,877 cases of human trafficking in 2015. Of these, Assam, Bengal, Bihar and Haryana accounted for 85 per cent of the cases.

About 3,490 cases involved children. Among child-trafficking cases, 3,087 cases were registered under IPC Section 366A for procurement of a girl to force her into sex.