GOVERNMENT STARTS WORK ON RULES

NEW DELHI: A day after the Lok Sabha passed the anti-trafficking bill , Union minister of women and child development, Maneka Gandhi , put up a strong defence of the legislation even as her ministry decided to set-up a sub committee to start work on drafting rules for the bill which will now be tabled in Rajya Sabha for approval.The bill's critics in the Lok Sabha led by Congress and CPM wanted it to be referred to a standing committee for review. However, the bill managed to sail through after a debate.Responding to the flak received by the bill, Maneka spoke to TOIand sought to allay fears expressed by associations of sex workers that the new bill will threaten the rights of those doing sex work voluntarily. "This bill is not for anyone who is voluntarily doing sex work and has not been trafficked. However, this bill will not spare anyone who has trafficked a girl for sex work. We feel that this Bill will help crackdown on the powerful and rich who traffick girls and push them into sex trade ."In fact, Maneka in her speech in the Lok Sabha had referred to the bill as "victim centric". "Yes, there are other laws but they only focus on the criminal aspect. This law will focus on the victim and rehabilitation. The purpose of this law is very clear that there will be zero tolerance towards any kind of trafficking crime," Maneka told TOI. While Gandhi did not make any comment on the fate of the existing Immoral Traffic of Persons Act , sources said, "it will be subsumed automatically in the new law."Women and child development minister has said that the anti-trafficking legislation is a message to the trafficking mafia that there is "zero tolerance for such crimes." She pointed that the provisions on confiscation of property and freezing of bank account of perpetrators will go a long way to counter traffickers operating in red light areas like GB Road in Delhi and Kamathipura in Mumbai.Maneka Gandhi on the criticism raised by MPs in Lok Sabha and some civil society organisations about the very purpose of this law. Critics have cited that section 370 of the Indian Penal Code that defines the offence of trafficking and Immoral Traffic of Persons Act already exist. “ Yes, there are other laws but they only focus on the criminal aspect. This law will focus on the victim and rehabilitation. The purpose of this law is very clear that there will be zero tolerance towards any kind of trafficking crime,” Gandhi said. While Gandhi did not make any comment on the fate of ITPA, sources said, “it will be subsumed automatically in the new law.”Critics of the Bill in the Lok Sabha led by the Congress and CPI (M) sought that the Bill be referred to a standing committee for a review. However, the Bill managed to sail through after a debate. Gandhi countered Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s criticism that the bill has been drafted “by the bureaucracy, for the bureaucracy.”“The National Anti Trafficking Bureau is the only new body that will come up the rest of the investigation mechanism at the state and district level are not new layers but will be the existing systems and officers taking on this new role under the law. “All cases that come under the purview of trafficking will be addressed under this framework,” she added. Gandhi also said that in case of child survivors of trafficking there the new framework will work in coordination with the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act and the role of CWCs will not be diluted in any way.On the Bill not mentioning trafficking for domestic work, sources in the ministry said that it has been covered under the “aggravated forms of trafficking.” They cite the provision on trafficking for forced labour or bonded labour as the one that covers the trafficked domestic worker .* The ministry of women and child development will soon set up the sub committee to start work on drafting the rules for the legislation.* Draft rules likely to be ready within two weeks from the time the sub committee holds its first meeting.* Any law becomes implementable only after the rules are notified.* By starting out early on rules the government is trying to gain confidence of stakeholders* Will also tie-up loose ends, lacunae and to remove possibility of ambiguity and misinterpretation of provisions.* It is proposed that this sub committee will have three expert members* No expert from the Bill drafting will be part of the rule making process.* MPs who made suggestions to improve the Bill during the discussion in Lok Sabha likely to be consulted.