In line with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s announcement to make Uttar Pradesh child labour-free by 2027, Jhansi is set to become the first district of the state where all 496 of its gram panchayats would be declared child labour-free. Meanwhile, the district is also gearing up to eradicate child labour from its urban areas. Divisional Commissioner of Jhansi, Bimal Kumar Dubey is scheduled to present the district’s child labour-free model before CM Adityanath and Labour Minister Anil Rajbhar at a state-level consultation in Lucknow on ‘World Day Against Child Labour’ on June 12. Dubey said the milestone is the result of a year-long campaign that combined administrative mobilisation, community participation, village-level monitoring and support from trade bodies, NGOs and welfare departments. What it means Officials clarified that ‘child labour-free’ status does not imply that every household in the district was physically inspected. Rather, it means that all identified child labourers were withdrawn from work, enrolled in schools, and their families linked with welfare schemes. A working child under the age of 14 years is considered …