"Even if some of them manage to stave off starvation by, say, begging, one immediate consequence will be that they will no more have a roof over their heads. Most child laborers in Mumbai (where I live) work in low grade restaurants (where they are allowed to sleep on the hard table tops after the restaurant closes for the night) or as domestic help. They will be turned out on the streets immediately if the law is successfully enforced. Building a welfare net in India on the scale required is a gigantic task that is not going to happen any time soon."
Sujeet,
Why do you think the law was enacted, then?
-B.