About 12.4 jobs provided during 2004-05: Minister

New Delhi, Nov 27: Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes today announced in the Lok Sabha that around 12.4 million people were provided employment during the period 2000-05.

Mr Fernandes told the Lower House during the question hour that the tenth plan envisaged creation of around 50 million employment opportunities, 30 million trough normal the growth process and 20 million through special employment generation schemes.

Therefore, on an average, 10 million employment opportunities were envisaged per year.

He said as per the published report of the National Sample Survey Organisation's last such survey for the year 2004-05, the employment as per the usual status approach, which was of the order of 397 million in 1999-2000, had gone upto 459 million by 2004-05.

Responding to a number of supplementaries, the Minister said the Government has no plan of granting unemployment allowance.

To another question on the issue of child labour, Mr Fernandes admitted that the Centre had recently issued a notification banning employment of children as domestic workers/servants and in dhabas (roadside eateries), resturants, hotels, motels, tea-shops, spas and other recreational centres with effect ffrom October 10, this year.

He said as the State Governments are the appropriate authority for the implementattion of Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 in their respective areas, the State Governments have been advised to take all appropriate measures for the effective implementation of this notification.

He further said the Government is implementing the National Child Labour Scheme in 250 districts of 20 States in the country. Another 21 districts have been taken up under the INDUS project, as Indo-US Child Labour Project. Under the scheme, children withdrawn from work are provided education, nutrition, vocational training, stipened and health care.

In addition, to taking care of the special needs of the children who would be withdrawn from work, shelter homes, child lines, and an emergency toll free helpline under the Ministry of Women and Child Development would be used to provide immediate help to these children in terms of food, clothing and shelter, he added.

UNI