Rehabilitation of 234 Freed Bonded Labourers

on March 7, 2018 at Bagepalli, Chikkaballapur District

On March 7, 2018, 234 Bonded labourers from Bagepalli taluk freed in
2013 will be given rehabilitation grants of Rs 20,000 from the old central
scheme and Rs 7,200 each from the old unique pension scheme of
Karnataka Government.

A total of 1681 freed bonded labourers are to be rehabilitated since

2012, including the 234 from Bagepally:

Similar rehabilitation grants were given to 168 bonded labourers in

Gudibande taluk recently on Feb 12, 2018.

Also similar grants will be distributed in the coming few days to 243 freed
bonded labourers in Chikkaballapur taluk and another 278 in Chintamani
taluk, all of them freed in 2013. With that there would be a total of 923
bonded labourers freed in 2013 from four taluks in Chikkaballapur district
who would have got a grant of Rs 27,200 each.
➢ 168 in Gudinbande taluk (given on Feb 12)
➢ 234 in Bagepalli taluk (to be given on Mar 6)
➢ 243 in Chikkaballapur taluk (to be given shortly)
➢ 278 in Chintamani taluk (to be given shortly)

Last year Rehabilitation Grants to the following bonded labourers

liberated in 2012 were given:
➢ 253 in HD Kote, Mysore dist.
➢ 119 in Madhugiri taluk, Tumkur dist.
➢ 386 in Pavagada talku, Tumkur dist.
This makes a total of 758 bonded labourers freed in 2012 who had
received the Rehabilitation Grants in 2017.

Thus a total of 1681 bonded labourers freed way back in 2012 and 2013
received or are receiving their rehabilitation grants in 2017 and 2018.

Supplementing the rehabilitation grants from other schemes:

As JEEVIKA was prevailing upon the Executive Officer (EO) of

Gudibande Taluk Panchayat to club together benefits from other
Government Schemes with the Rs. 27,200 grants from the old Central
and State Bonded Labour Schemes, the MLA, Sri S.N. Subbareddy also
prevailed upon the EO to direct the local banks to give a loan of Rs.
23,000 with a low interest, to each of the freed bonded labourers so as
to enable them each to buy a high milk yielding cow or good 10 sheep /
goats with Rs. 50,000, and with that asset, earn an independent living.

JEEVIKA also prevailed upon the EO to work out skill enhancement

trainings to all the freed bonded labourers. In this case the skill
enhancement trainings were to be given for raising cattle, sheep and
goats and taking efficient care to maintain and maximize yield. The EO
readily agreed to this suggestion and promised to organise a two-day
training programme not only to the 168 but also to all the freed bonded
labourers in Gudibande since 2001, i.e., six in 2001, 102 in 2010, eight
in 2012, and 168 in 2013, totally 284. To those who had lands above
two acres, he promised to procure grants for irrigation bore wells from
the Social Welfare Department. Further, housing grants also were to be
given to those without own houses.

A detailed Action Plan for integral rehabilitation as envisioned in

the New Central Sector Scheme of 2017:

The EO of Gudibande is working on a detailed Action Plan for

meaningful rehabilitation of the freed bonded labourers, indicating the
rehabilitation grants from the Central and State Schemes, the low
interest loans to be received from the banks, the type of animals to be
bought with these amounts, the date(s) on which animal husbandry skills
were to be given, the name of the housing scheme and the amount of
housing grant to be provided, the extent of land owned by the freed
bonded labourers, the grant for irrigation bore well to be provided by the
Social Welfare Department and benefits to be provided from any other
relevant scheme.

Similar Action Plans are being made by the Bagepally EO. The EOs of
Chikkaballapur and Chintamani taluks are also requested to work out
similar Action Plans when they will be providing the rehabilitation grants.
Though the EOs of Heggada Devan Kote, Madhugiri and Yadgiri have
already distributed the rehabilitation grants according to the old
schemes, they are also requested to work out the detailed Action Plans
and submit them to the State Government.

This is done with a definite purpose.

Ever since the introduction of the New Sector Scheme for the
Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers effective since May 17, 2016,
JEEVIKA has been advocating that the bonded labourers freed long
before this date but not yet rehabilitated even by that date due to the
negligence of the officials must be rehabilitated under the New Scheme
only. The new scheme mandates granting men bonded labourers
rupees one lakh each, women and child bonded labourers rupees two
lakhs each and the disabled and the sexually exploited rupees three
lakhs each. The demand by JEEVIKA was because of many reasons. 1.
The old scheme was formulated way back in 2000. After nearly 20
years, there has been tremendous inflation and in 2017 the amounts for
rehabilitation determined in 2000 would not be adequate at all to provide
for assets required for any decent livelihood. 2. The delay was purely
due to government. 3. When the New Scheme is in operation precisely
for meaningful rehabilitation, following the old schemes will not achieve
the intended rehabilitation of the freed bonded labourers.

Role of JEEVIKA in the Enhancement of Rehabilitation Grants in

the New Scheme of 2017:

Karnataka Government had agreed for higher amounts for rehabilitation

in 2014 itself due to the advocacy by JEEVIKA since 2010. Due to the
representation made by JEEVIKA during the meeting of the Karnataka
State High Power Committee on Bonded Labour on January 28, 2014 to
raise the rehabilitation grant to Rs. two lakhs from the earlier Rs. twenty
thousand, the Chairman of the Committee agreed to raise it to Rs. one
lakh and recommended the Centre to approve it. [Whereas the National
Human rights Commission had proposed to the Centre that year to raise
the amount to only Rs. 50,000.] He had also readily approved the
recommendation to raise the pension amount under Karnataka’s unique
scheme from Rs. 300 to Rs. 1,000.

During another High Power Committee on January 29, 2018, JEEVIKA

reiterated its demand to apply the norms under the New Scheme to
rehabilitate bonded labourers though freed before May 17, 2017. Here
also the Chairman readily accepted the suggestion and asked the Rural
Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Department to request the
Centre to accept this demand and the RDPR had already written to the
Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the three districts to draw up plans
for skill trainings and for providing rehabilitation schemes of the State
Government to each of the freed bonded labourers being now
rehabilitated. These plans would be submitted to the Central Gand
proposals made to sanction the rehabilitation grants according to the
New Scheme.

Delay in providing for rehabilitation grants for the 1681 bonded

labourers freed in 2012 and 2013

Though the 1681 bonded labourers were identified and freed by the
different sub divisional magistrates, the State Government was delaying
unnecessarily in sanctioning the rehabilitation grants. One reason was
that the Government was insisting on proofs of following the procedures
laid down by it in May, 2012. But the preliminary processes of
identifying those bonded labourers had taken place much before the
Circular of May 30, 2012 was passed; and actions at the state level to
initiate activities to implement the Circular were started only in the
beginning of 2013.

The rehabilitation of the 1681 bonded labourers freed in 2012 and 2013
was taken up at last in 2017 also due to another effort by JEEVIKA, this
time by approaching the higher judiciary. Because of the long delay in
securing their legitimate rehabilitation grants, 695 out of the total 1681
freed bonded labourers had managed to put together the required
documents and gone to the Karnataka High Court in 2016 to expedite
the release of the long overdue rehabilitation grants, and to grant the
rehabilitation grants according to the New Central Scheme.

When the Central and the State Governments received notices on

January 25, 2017 regarding the demands of the bonded labourers, the
officials woke up suddenly. To prevent dispersal of the enhanced
rehabilitation grants, according to the New Scheme, they hastily
mobilised and remitted to the districts the rehabilitation grants according
to the old scheme. These grants were released to the three districts in
the middle of 2017; but the release of the grants from the districts to the
taluks and from taluks to the bonded labourers was again delayed and is
yet to be completed!

But the state government has yet to initiate action to rehabilitate another
109 bonded labourers freed since 2013 from seven districts. They are:
in Mysore 29 (Periyapatna 22, Hunsuru 7), Mandya 40 (Madduru 40),
Belalgavi 27 (Bailahongal 17, Athani 10), Gadag 11 (Rona 11) and
Yadgiri 23.

There should not be any delay in releasing the rehabilitation grants and
schemes to the freed bonded labourers. If bonded labour system has to
be eradicated the rehabilitation provisions should be such as to help
them live a dignified life by providing self sustaining livelihoods.