P Chidambaram said the government also proposes amendments in the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956 for providing stringent legal framework.
The government is contemplating setting up anti-trafficking cells in States and chalking out a national plan for stringent action against human trafficking in the country, home minister P Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha today.
Replying to a question on the issue, he said the government also proposes amendments in the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956 for providing stringent legal framework to effectively deal with the menace.
"The ministry for women and child development is piloting amendments in the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act 1956 to enhance its scope for introducing stringent punishment against traffickers," he said.
Also, the home ministry has formed a nodal cell through which it is coordinating on matters relating to trafficking in human beings with other ministries and state governments," Chidambaram said.
Noting that a bulk of human trafficking cases are directly related to women and girls, he said out of 4,087 cases in 2007 related to trafficking, 3,568 cases were concerned with immoral trafficking.
He said that states should take steps to address social reasons behind immoral trafficking and the Centre could help them.
When Brinda Karat of CPI(M) sought to know whether the government was planning to introduce any specific legislation to curb trafficking, Chidambaram said the ministry for women and child development has proposed several amendments to the Act.
On the issue of trafficing taking place in the garb of marriage, he said that though the police does register cases, it is difficult to judge whether women are entering into matrimonial alliances for companionship or are being trafficked.
The home minister said a regional task force has been set up for implementation of SAARC convention on preventing and combating trafficking in women and children for prostitution, and standard operation procedures (SOP) for preventing and combating trafficking for prostitution.
When Prabhat Jha (BJP) asked the home minister whether the government agreed with a US report that India has become a large bastion of human trafficking, he said, "though it is an issue of serious concern and government has made serious efforts to deal with this crime in a holistic manner, it does not take cognizance of a report made by the US State Department to meet the requirements laid by the US Congress.
"This is an internal matter between the US government and US Congress," he said.
He added that the report has also named many other countries, "but we are addressing this problem as an enlightened nation and not because any country is giving a report."
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