Assam Appoints District Child Protection Officers as Child Marriage Prohibition Officers

To strengthen its fight against child marriage, the Assam government has notified the district child protection officers of all districts of Assam as child marriage prohibition officers (CMPOs) at the district-level with immediate effect.

A notification issued by the Women and Child Development department of Assam said today that the CMPOs will perform all the functions and duties as specified under sub-section 3 of Section 16 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA 2006).

In addition to these functions and duties as specified in PCMA Act, 2006, the CMPOs will also perform the functions and duties as specified under section 3 of the Assam Prohibition of Child Marriage Rules, 2015, as notified by Government of Assam.

The CMPOs will lodge FIRs under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 (as amended in 2019) or under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006", as the case may be, the notification said.

These officers notified above is in addition to the gram panchayat secretaries notified in general areas and the Lot Mandals (patwaries in Dima Hasao) in the Sixth Schedule areas for the same purpose. All CMPOs in the districts shall maintain close coordination with each other, it said.

The Assam government had in February 2023 started a massive crackdown against child marriages arresting over 5,300 people for their involvement in child marriages and registered over 5,800 cases of child marriages.

The move is aimed at ending the child marriages in Assam completely by 2026.