CHANDIGARH: In a major push to eliminate child marriage, the Union Government has directed all gram panchayats across the country to pass a resolution declaring their villages ‘Child Marriage-Free’ during the gram sabha meetings scheduled for October 2.
The move aims to fix accountability at the grassroots level and strengthen local monitoring systems for child protection.
The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development issued a letter to all States and Union Territories on September 16. It said that after a gram sabha passes the resolution, the designated Child Marriage Prohibition Officer will verify the village’s status.
After the prescribed process is completed, the village will be awarded a ‘Child Marriage-Free Village Certificate’. The certificate must be signed by the Block Development Officer (BDO), Sarpanch, Panchayat Secretary and Child Marriage Prohibition Officer.
In a letter to the Additional Chief Secretaries or Principal Secretaries in charge of women and child development in all states and Union Territories, Vineet Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, said the resolution was a compulsory criterion for certification.
The letter said the Ministry of Women and Child Development was implementing the ‘Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat Abhiyan’ to accelerate efforts to eliminate child marriage. It also referred to an earlier letter dated June 23, in which the Ministry of Panchayati Raj was asked to support the participation of Panchayati Raj Institutions in the certification process.
It also said to ensure that the resolutions are properly recorded and shared with the concerned Child Marriage Prohibition Officer and the Department of Women and Child Development for verification and further action.
According to the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5), around 12.5 per cent of women in Haryana were married before completing 18 years of age. In Sirsa district, the figure is around 9 per cent. At the national level, 23.3 per cent of women aged 20-24 reported being married before the age of 18.
While Haryana’s figure is lower than the national average, child marriage has not been completely eradicated, particularly in rural and marginalised communities.
The state registered 402 complaints under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act between April 2025 and March 2026.
A ground report prepared by child and women’s rights activist Sunil Jaglan, founder of the Selfie With Daughter Foundation, and submitted to the Deputy Commissioner of Sirsa, said none of the surveyed Panchayats had active Child Protection Committees.
The report recommends the immediate constitution of functional Child Protection Committees in every gram panchayat. It also calls for a marriage register in every village and a resolution during the October 2 gram sabha to create ‘Child-Safe Villages’.
As part of the ‘Bal Azaadi Abhiyan’, jointly run by the Selfie With Daughter Foundation and Just Rights for Children, Team Laado units have been formed from Panchayats to colleges under Jaglan’s leadership. The teams identify cases of child marriage, raise awareness and intervene when required.
UNICEF estimates that more than 1.5 million girls under the age of 18 are married every year in India. The country accounts for nearly one-third of all child marriages worldwide. Approximately 22.24 crore living women in India were married before the age of 18.
The verification process following the gram sabha resolution is intended to ensure that a ‘Child Marriage-Free Village’ declaration is not merely a paper exercise.
Jaglan said the initiative that began in Sirsa is now developing into a nationwide campaign. “On October 2, villages must go beyond taking a pledge. They need to put in place active systems that genuinely protect children,” he said.
Jaglan also noted that the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on September 4 establishing November 27 as the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage. He said this marked an important global commitment to accelerate collective action against child marriage.
He said his organisation could support the local administration in helping gram panchayats pass the resolutions, constituting Child Welfare and Protection Committees (CWPCs), strengthening marriage and migration records, raising community awareness, preventing child marriage and improving district-level coordination.