The Odisha Government has conferred the status of Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs) on the gram panchayat functionaries besides matrons and warden of Scheduled Tribes & Scheduled Caste Development Department’s residential school hostels, in an attempt to expeditiously monitor steps to prevent the practice of early marriage.
“In pursuance of Sub-section (1) Of Section 16 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, the State Government does hereby declare all Panchayat Executive Officers (PEOs) of Gram Panchayats, Wardens, Matrons of Residential Hostels under the Scheduled Tribes & Scheduled Caste Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare Department and School & Mass Education Department as Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs)”, a notification issued by Women and Child Development Department.
”They shall exercise the powers & perform duties conferred on him/her by or under clauses (a) to (g) of Sub-section (3) of Section 16 of the said Act within the area of their respective jurisdiction,” the notification said.
Several parts of the State mostly the tribal pockets are affected by the evil practice of child marriage. The Government has drawn up an action plan for addressing the social malaise and vulnerabilities of girl children from the practice. The conferring of CMPO tag on GP functionaries and SC-ST hostel matrons and wardens is part of the steps taken to curb the practice, senior officials of the Department of Women & Child Development said.
As many as 16 districts- Malkangiri, Mayurbhanj, Nabarangpur, Nayagarh, Koraput, Rayagada, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Gajapati, Keonjhar, Balasore, Deogarh, Boudh, Subarnapur, Kandhamal and Angul- are identified as regions where the evil practice is lurking its ugly head from time to time.
Poverty coupled with the ignorance of illiterate parents has all contributed to the prevalence of this illegal practice. Ironically, the majority of parents are unaware of the legal provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, which is a cognizable offence.