Annual Report - National Human Rights Commission

Scourge of Bonded Labour
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identification and release along with copies of Release Certificates has been sent to the DMs of
the District concerned in their native States, in most cases full address of the migrant labourers
have not been mentioned making it impossible for the authorities concerned at the receiving end
to arrange their rehabilitation under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme. The Labour Commissioner,
MP has been instructed to get the needful done.
9.16 216 out of a total of 223 identified and released bonded labourers belonging to MP have
been rehabilitated under the Centally Sponsored Scheme. Seven persons released in December,
2000 from Vidisha are yet to be rehabilitated as they could not be located at their address recorded
in the Release Certificates. Their rehabilitation is being persuaded. Besides the rehabilitatory
package of Rs. 20,000 under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme, the released bonded labourers
have been provided benefits of (a) allotment of residential plots to homeless labourers and (b)
allotment of agricultural land to landless labourers, wherever possible. MP offers two excellent
examples of rehabilitation of released bonded labourers at Vidisha and Shivpuri, references to
which have been made in the Commission’s reports for 2002-03 and 2003-04.
9.17 A total of 22 criminal cases under the Bonded Labour Act/IPC have been registered since
1999-2000. 20 cases are pending trial – 16 with Judicial Magistrates and 4 with Executive
Magistrates. The provision u/s 21 of Bonded Labour Act empowering the Executive Magistrates
to try offences under the Bonded Labour Act are being used reluctantly. Two cases are still at the
investigation stage.
9.18 The Government of MP has drawn full grant of Rs. 25 lakh released by the Government
of India for survey (Rs. 10 lakh), Evaluation Studies (Rs. 5 lakh) and Awareness Generation
(Rs.10 lakh) The State has been slow in utilization of funds received from Government of
India for the survey work and Evaluatory studies. The grant was made available to the Labour
Department in March, 2003. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar National Institute of Social Science
(BANISS), Mhow was engaged in January, 2004 to carry out the survey of bonded labour in
the districts of Vidisha, Chattarpur, Panna, Shivpuri and Raisen. The same Institute was engaged
for Evaluatory studies in the same districts. The findings of surveys and reports of Evaluatory
studies were not ready till the time of review. The grant for awareness generation has been
utilized through an organixation called MADHYAM which has spent the amount on printing
of posters, wall calendars, pamphlets besides arranging radio talks and nukkad nataks in 23
bonded labour prone districts of MP.
Maharashtra
9.19 Vigilance Committees are in place at all the District HQs (35) and Sub-Divisional HQs
(109) of the State. However, these Committees are not meeting regularly and the detection of
bonded labour is practically nil in the State. Pending rehabilitation of 36 migrant bonded labourers
– 3 belonging to Karnataka and 33 to Tamil Nadu was mentioned in the Commission’s report for
2003-04. The review has revealed deficiencies in the documents relating to these releases which
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