A Punjab Assembly Home Affairs committee has unanimously approved a Punjab begging law update that would punish parents and guardians who use children for begging, allow others to do so, or fail through negligence to stop it.
The Punjab Vagrancy (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was cleared in a meeting chaired by MPA Safdar Hussain Sahi, with committee members and officials from the provincial assembly and related departments present. Under the draft, imprisonment could run from three months to three years, and fines from Rs100,000 to Rs300,000.
What the bill would change
The amendments would raise the child protection age from 14 to 16 years in the Punjab Vagrancy Ordinance, 1958 — the older provincial law that deals with vagrancy and related controls. That means more adolescents would fall under the stronger safeguards if the bill becomes law.
The stated aim is to curb exploitation of children by families and by organised begging networks. The draft is not yet described as fully passed by the assembly; it has cleared the committee stage on the terms set out above.
Who would enforce it
To tighten enforcement, the legislation would appoint the director general of Social Welfare and Bait-ul-Maal, Punjab — the province’s social welfare and charitable endowment wing — as controller for anti-begging work. That official would coordinate operations, inspect welfare and rehabilitation centres, keep a central database, issue standard operating procedures, and supervise rehabilitation programmes.
The amendments also seek better coordination among government departments and closer monitoring of people taken into custody and later put into rehabilitation.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- 1958: The Punjab Vagrancy Ordinance sets the existing provincial framework now being amended.
- 2026: An amending ordinance on these lines is issued.
- 2026: The Committee on Home Affairs unanimously approves the Punjab Vagrancy (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which would replace that ordinance by writing its provisions into legislation.
What still depends on resources
How far the Punjab begging law crackdown works in practice will still turn on rehabilitation facilities, trained staff and funding — points noted alongside the committee’s approval. Without those supports, custody and penalties alone may not deliver lasting protection for children.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Punjab ki committee ne bachon se bheek mangwane wale walidain aur guardians ke khilaf sakht saza wala bill pass kar diya hai. Teen mahine se teen saal qaid aur ek se teen lakh rupay jurmana ho sakta hai. Bachon ki hifazat ki umar 14 se 16 saal karne ki tajweez hai. Asal asar tab hoga jab rehab centres, staff aur budget bhi maujood hon.
