As per the plea, Delhi has become the hub of trafficking, both as a transit and destination point, in the last few years.
Despite the Delhi government passing an executive order three years ago to register all placement agencies in the capital, NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) told the High Court Thursday that many such agencies are operating without registration or licence.
The NGO filed a plea in the HC, seeking contempt proceedings against officials of the department concerned for failure to implement the order.
The plea, filed through its advocate Prabhsahay Kaur, added that the government has also not implemented a HC order regulating the functioning of placement agencies. The NGO had filed numerous PILs on the issue as several adults and minors are trafficked from across the country to Delhi through such agencies.
As per the plea, Delhi has become the hub of trafficking, both as a transit and destination point, in the last few years. “The root cause behind such an unprecedented increase in human trafficking activities in and around NCR can directly be attributed to the unregulated realm of placement agencies… which intentionally target tribal, poor women and children…,” the plea said.
In 2014, the government told the HC that it had issued an order for compulsory registration of private placement agencies providing domestic workers, while making it clear that all unregistered firms will have to shut down after October 25, 2014. It told the HC that its executive order of September 22, 2014 was officially notified a day after. “But even after the order was passed, nothing has been done,” said the plea.
The NGO then sought directions to the secretary-cum-labour commissioner and chief inspector, shops and establishments of the government, to compulsorily register all placement agencies within eight weeks, and take action against the unregistered ones.