Overview
- Official data tabled in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly show reported child marriages rising from 366 in 2020 to 538 in 2025, with year-by-year counts of 366, 436, 519, 528, 529, and 538.
- Damoh recorded 115 cases this year, accounting for about 21% of the state’s total and marking the first time in five years that any district crossed 100 cases.
- Women and Child Development Minister Nirmala Bhuria told reporters she had no such information about the figures even though her department presented them in the House.
- Congress MLA Jaivardhan Singh said the steady rise shows government schemes and spending have not produced results on the ground.
- The government cited Child Marriage Prohibition Officers, Beti Bachao activities, festival-specific awareness drives, and district control rooms, while official figures also showed variation across districts with Umaria and Anuppur reporting no cases in 2025.