Deogarh Declares Religious Institutions ‘Child Marriage-Free Zones’

Deogarh: In a major push against child marriage, the Odisha’s Deogarh district administration has declared all religious institutions in the district as “child marriage-free zones” as part of an intensified campaign to eliminate the practice.

Officials said the move forms part of a district-wide strategy aimed at strengthening prevention, monitoring and enforcement mechanisms at the grassroots level.

To tighten surveillance, a child marriage prohibition task force has been constituted in every panchayat. Anganwadi workers have been directed to register all marriages in official records maintained by the district administration to ensure greater oversight.

In an effort to encourage public participation, the administration has also announced a cash incentive of Rs 3,000 for informers who report instances of child marriage.

According to officials, the prevalence of child marriage in the district has witnessed a significant decline — from 23 per cent in the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) conducted in 2015-16 to 19 per cent in NFHS-5 held between 2019 and 21 — following the implementation of a focused district action plan.

The campaign has been rolled out in phases. In the first phase, 370 villages were declared child marriage-free. In the second phase, district authorities approved the declaration of 364 additional villages and 11 municipal wards under the same status. These include 140 villages in Barkot block, 116 in Reamal and 108 in Tileibani.

With these additions, Deogarh is poised to become the third district in Odisha, after Ganjam district and Gajapati district, to be officially recognised as child marriage-free.

Officials said the administration will continue monitoring and community engagement efforts to ensure sustained compliance and long-term social change.