Bonded Labour – Background Note

Introduction:

Prior to the early modern age, feudal and serfdom systems were the predominant political and
economic systems in Europe. These systems were based on the holding of all land in fief or fee,
and the resulting relation of lord to vassal, and were characterized by homage, legal and military
service of tenants, and forfeiture. Many historians have argued that this system was also
established in some Latin American countries, following European settlement.

A modernization of the feudal system was "peonage", where debtors were bound in servitude to
their creditors until their debts were paid. Although peons are only obliged to a creditor
monetarily, it might be viewed that this relationship reduces personal autonomy.

Debt bondage has been defined by the United Nations as a form of "modern day slavery" and is
prohibited by international law. It is specifically dealt with by Article 1(a) of the United Nations
1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery. It persists nonetheless especially in
developing nations, which have few mechanisms for credit security or bankruptcy, and where
fewer people hold formal title to land or possessions. According to some economists, for
example Hernando de Soto, this is a major barrier to development in those countries -
entrepreneurs do not dare take risks and cannot get credit because they hold no collateral and
may burden families for generations to come.

Where children are forced to work because of debt bondage of the family, this is considered not
only child labor, but a worst form of child labor in terms of the Worst Forms of Child Labour
Convention, 1999 of the International Labour Organization.

Despite the UN prohibition, Anti-Slavery International estimates that "between 10 and 20

million people are being subjected to debt bondage today."

The practice of bonded labour violates the following International Human Rights Conventions
whereas India is a party to all of them and such is legally bound to comply with their terms. They
are:

• Convention on the Suppression of Slave Trade and Slavery, 1926;

• Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and
Practices Similar to Slavery Trade, 1956;

• Forced Labour Convention, 1930;

• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 1966;

• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ECOSOC), 1966;

• Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 1989

BONDED LABOUR IN INDIA:

Bonded labour is widely prevalent in many regions in India. The main feature of the system is
that the debtor pledges his person or that a member of his family for a loan and is released on
the repayment of the debt.

Bonded labour is referred to by different names in different regions. The Elayaperumal

Committee mentions the following:

• Gothi in Orissa;

• Machindari in Madhya Pradesh;

• Sagri in Rajasthan;

• Vet Begar and Salbandi in Maharashtra;

• Jana, Manihi or Ijhari in Jammu and Kashmir;

• Jeetha in Mysore;

• Vetti in Tamil Nadu;

• Kamiya or Kuthiya in Chattisgarh.

In the beginning of the twentieth century the system combined the elements of exploitation,
patronage and protection at least in some regions. But with increasing trend towards the money
economy and changes in the types of use to which agricultural land is put, the element of
patronage disappeared and that of exploitation persisted.

Legal Context of Bonded Labour in India:

Some related provision regarding to bonded labour, namely:

• Preamble: The Constitution of India guarantees all citizen social, economic and political justice,
freedom of thought and expression, equality of status and opportunity and fraternity assuring
dignity of the individual;

• Article 14, 15 and 16: These articles guarantee equality and equal treatment;

• Article 19(1) (g): The article guarantees freedom of trade and profession;

• Article 21: The article guarantees right to life and liberty;

• Article 23: Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour - Traffic in human beings
and begar and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this
provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law. Nothing in this article shall
prevent the State from imposing compulsory service for public purposes, and in imposing such
service the State shall not make any discrimination on grounds only on religion, race, caste or
class or any of them.

• Article 24: The article prohibits the employment of children whether as bonded labour or
otherwise. Together, Article 23 and Article 24 are place under the heading “Right against
Exploitation”, one of India’s constitutionally proclaimed fundamental rights.

• Directive Principles: Moreover, the Directive Principles directs the State to strive to secure,
inter alia: (a) Just and human conditions of work (Article 42); (b) Educational and economic
interest of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe and other weaker section of the society
(Article 46).

• Under Article 42. Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief - The
State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity
relief.
• Under Article 43. Living wage, etc. for workers - The State shall Endeavour to secure, by
suitable legislation or economic organization or in any other way, to all workers, agricultural,
industrial or otherwise, work and living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of
life and full enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural opportunities and, in particular the State
shall Endeavour to promote cottage industrial on an individual or co-operative basis in rural
areas.

Indian Penal Code: Under Section 374. Unlawful compulsory labour - Whoever unlawfully
compels any person to labour against the will of that person, shall be punishable with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or
with both, also;

Children (Pledging of Labour) Act, 1933: Children (Pledging of Labour) Act, 1933 says that
unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context - “an agreement of pledging the
labour of child” means an agreement written or oral, express or implied, whereby the parent or
guardian of a child, in return for any payment or benefit received or to be received by him,
undertakes to cause or allow the services of the child to be utilized in any employment. Provided
that any agreement made without detriment to a child, and not made in consideration of any
benefit other than reasonable wages to be paid for the child’s services and terminable at not
more than a weeks notice, is not an agreement within the meaning of this definition. It also says
that “Whoever, being the parent or guardian of a child, makes an agreement to pledge the labour
of that child, shall be punished with fine which may extend up to fifty rupees”. Based on those
provisions, the system of bonded labour is thus totally incompatible with the aim of an
egalitarian socio-economic order under the Constitution of India. The system is also an
infringement of the basic human rights and destruction of the dignity of human labour.

NATIONAL LAW: In order to give effect to the constitutional prohibition of bonded labour
as specified under Article 23 of Indian Constitution, Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act was
passed in 1976.

The Act was intended to free all bonded labourers, cancel their debts, establish rehabilitative
measures and punish offender through imprisonment and fines. Implementation of the Act is
the responsibility of the State Government.

Before going into the material parts and the implementation of the Act of 1976, let us observe a
few developments in this area prior to the posing of the Act of 1976.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Prior to 1976, all efforts to tackle the issue of bonded labour were made at the regional level
only. Before the Independence, there were two legislations, namely:

• The Bihar and Orissa Kamiauti Agreement Act, 1920;

• The Madras Debt Bondage Abolition Regulation Act, 1940.

In the post independence period two legislation which had dealt with the abolition of bonded
labour deserves mention are:

• The Orissa Debt Bondage Abolition Regulation, 1948;

• The Rajasthan Sagri System Abolition Act, 1961.

In all, according to the Report of the Commission for SCs and STs 1964-11965, the net results
of these enactments are failure. And in 1975, yet another attempt was made to abolish the system
through India under the twenty-point programme.

Initially, the Bonded Labour System Ordinance was promulgated in 1975 and later this was
enacted by the Parliament. Thus came into being the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act
1976.

Apart from the abovementioned the response of the judiciary has been positive but the
disappointment comes when it is seen that till date there has not been a single case of conviction.
Some of the major case laws related to the issue of bonded labour are:

• Dharambir v State (1979, where the Supreme Court held that prisoners are entitled to fair
wages while doing work in the jails. The court held that free labour by prisoners is violative of
Article 23 of the Constitution.

• PUDR v UOI (1982), where the Supreme Court held that giving wages below the limits set by
the Minimum Wages Act would amount to forced labour.

• Bandhua Mukti Morcha v UOI (1984), where the Supreme Court issued directions for the
release and rehabilitation of bonded labourers engaged in the mining operations.
• Neerja Chaudhary v State of M.P (1984), where the Supreme Court expressed anguish over the
indifference of the government towards the rehabilitation of released bonded labourers.

• Shankar Mukherjee v UOI (1990), where the Supreme Court held that the Contract Labour
Act, 1970 is a welfare legislation that must be interpreted liberally in favour of the labourers. The
court further held that the system of contract labour is just another form of bonded labour and it
should be abolished due to its baneful effect.

• PUCL v State of TN (2004) , where the Supreme Court appreciated the role of NGOs in the
prevention of bonded labour and their emancipation. The court further observed that the
approach of judiciary should be benevolent towards bonded labourers.

THE BONDED LABOUR SYSTEM (ABOLITION) ACT, 1976

SALIENT FEATURES:

The open objectives of the Act are Identification, Release and Rehabilitation of Bonded
Labourers. Let us analyse some of the silent features of the Act:

Firstly, it is about the awareness of the need for machinery relating to its implementation.
Secondly, the Act envisages the Constitution of Vigilance Communities at the district and sub-
divisioned level, to advise the District Magistrate and to ensure the implementation of the
provision of the Act.

Thirdly, Section 16 to 19 of the Act deals with the Penal Sanctions which are, if enforced
properly, sufficient to have the requisite effect.

IMPLEMENTATION:

The real problem lies in the implementation aspects. The failure in the implementation of the
Act may arise because of a variety of factors chide among them, namely:

• Lack of Awareness: The need to create awareness of socio-economic legislation or to publicize

it is hardly realized.

• Lack of Actual Prosecution of the Offenders: As also seen from past experience, there is hardly
any enforcement of the penal sanctions provisions.
• Lack of Administrative and Political Will: Not infrequently, the administrators who implement
the programmes are drawn from the dominant castes whose interests are adversely affected by
the legislation.

• Lack of Facilities for Legal Aid and Advice: Often, illiteracy, lack of communication,
remoteness from urban centers and poverty inhibits the weaker section from taking advantage of
the legal process available to them.

• Social and Economic Dependence: The law should take account of the social and economic
background of the issue.

• Lack of Measures to Make Concerned Official Countable for Their in Action or Misdeeds: In
Neeraja Chaudhary v. State of M.P. (1982), most of the released bonded labourer had not been
rehabilitated even after six months of their release.

As per the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976:

“Bonded labour” means any labour or service rendered under the bonded labour system-Section
2 (e).

“Bonded labourer” means a labourer who incurs, or has, or is presumed to have incurred a
bonded debt-Section 2(f).

“Bonded labour system” means the system of forced, or partly forced, labour under which a
debtor enters, or has, or is presumed to have, entered, into an agreement with the creditor to the
effect that he would-

I. render, by himself or through any member of his family, or any person dependent on
him, labour or service to the creditor, or for the benefit of the creditor, for a specified
period or for any unspecified period, either without wages or for nominal wages, or
II. For the freedom of employment or other means of livelihood for a specified period or
for an unspecified period, or
III. Forfeit the right to move freely throughout the territory of India, or
IV. Forfeit the right to appropriate or sell at market value any of his property or product of
his labour or the labour of a member of his family or any person dependent on him;
and includes the system of forced, or partly forced, labour under which a surety for a debtor
enters, or has, or is presumed to have, entered, into an agreement with the creditor to the effect
that in the event of the failure of the debtor to repay the debt, he would render the bonded
labour on behalf of the debtor-Section 2(g)

Through its various judgments, Supreme Court has given a very broad, liberal and expansive
interpretation of the definition of the bonded labour. According to the interpretation given by
the apex court, where a person provided labour or service to another for remuneration less than
the minimum wage, the labour or service falls clearly within the scope and ambit of the words
forced labour under the constitution.

Hence bonded labour in India can be viewed as a product of social, historical, economic, and
cultural factors. The redress of child labor, agricultural debt bondage, and other violations will
require an authentic commitment by the Indian government to adhere to its constitutional ban of
these practices and to overcome class based prejudice. The effect of an increasingly sophisticated
and prosperous India has not reached its poorest and least educated citizens. What remain to be
seen is whether India- as its development and economic trajectories improve – will invest
meaningfully in the protection of human rights and of its labour force.

What is it that prevalence of bonded labour system is of special concern to the NHRC
(to be henceforward called Commission)?

 The commission has consistently held that prevalence of bonded labour system is one
of the worst violations of human rights in general and right to life as enshrined in Art. 21
of constitution. Life in Art. 21 is not an animal like existence but human life with dignity.
It has been well settled that the right to life under Art. 21 include all those faculties and
means by which life becomes meaningful; it goes beyond the realm of a bare physical and
biological existence. This right is taken away by recourse to forced/ bonded labour.
 Forced/ bonded labour is reviewed by the commission as a crime against humanity. It is
one of the worst forms cruelty, indignity and deprivation. This is anathema to civilized
human conscience. It is a denial of inalienable human rights of every human being and
every citizen. It is a blot on civil society and a jolt to the conscience of the nation state.
Keeping these considerations in view and being concerned by the prevalence of bonded
labour system in many parts of the country, the commission has taken a decision to
 observe 2011-12 as the year of bonded and child labour with a view to giving
coordinated and concentrated attention of the problem.

Role played by the Commission in eradication of Bonded labour system:

 Thereafter on the basis of the report dated 6.6.2001 submitted by the Expert Group
constituted by the Commission under the Chairmanship of late Shrl S.R. Sankaran
former Secretary, Rural Development, Government of India on the status of
Implementation of the Act and Action Taken Report (ATR) filed by the Commission the
apex Court vide its order dated 5.5.2004 in WP (Civil) No. 3922/85 People's Union for
Civil Liberties Vs. State of Tamil Nadu and Others reported In 2004 12 SCC 381 was
pleased to issue the following directions:-
 'All States/UTs must submit their status report in the form prescribed by the
Commission in every 6 months;
 All States/UTs shall constitute Vigilance Committees at the district and sub divisional
levels in accordance with Section 13 of the Act within a period of 6 months from today;
 All States/UTs shall make proper arrangements for rehabilitation for released bonded
labourers. Such rehabilitation could be land based; non land based or art/craft/skill
based depending on the choice of the bonded labourer and his/her inclination and past
experience.
 If the States/UTs are not in a position to make arrangements for such rehabilitation,
they shall identify two philanthropic organizations or NGOs with proven track record
and good reputation. The entire Process of rehabilitation shall be completed within a
period of 6 months from the date of release;
 The Union and State Governments/UTs shall submit a plan within a period of 6
months for sharing the amount available under the modified Centrally Sponsored
Scheme (modified w.e.f. 1.5.2000) in all cases where the States/UTs wish to involve such
organizations or NGOs.'
 Between 11.11.97 till date successive Chairpersons, Members and Special Rapporteurs
have reviewed the performance of as many as 14 major States, have shared their findings
with the State Governments concerned for a better compliance with the provisions of
the law and directions of the Supreme Court.
 In all 24 familiarization-cum-sensitization workshops have been organized by the
Commission in respect of 24 States/UTs between 2001 and 2011. Besides, a National
Level Workshop was held on 27.6.07 and detailed guidelines have been issued to all
 States/UTs in the wake of conclusion of the workshop. The National Seminar on
elimination of bonded labour system on 30.9.11 is the second major national event
being organized by the Commission.
 A Manual on Human Rights for DMs covering elimination of bonded labour has been
brought out and circulated among DMs of all the 624 districts in the country
 Hon'ble Ex Chairperson of the Commission - Dr. Justice A.S. Anand issued on 12.9.06 a
letter of appeal to Chief Ministers of all States to view Issues related to elimination of
bonded labour system and bonded child labour with urgency and seriousness of concern
and high political and administrative priority.
 A one day workshop exclusively for sensitization of all DMs of Punjab (17) was held in
NHRC on 17.7.08 in presence of Hon'ble Justice Shri S. Rajendra Babu, ex-Chairperson
and full involvement of the commission.
 Similar sensitization workshops have been held exclusively for sensitization of DMs of
UP and Haryana under Chairmanship of Justice Shri B.C. Patel, Hon'ble Member of the
Commission.
 DMs and other functionaries who are being summoned by the Commission for personal
appearance are also being sensitized in course of their attending quasi judicial
proceedings in the Commission.

Experience of the Commission with the district administration and offending employers:

The Commission has been receiving a spate of complaints from time to time regarding
exploitation and harassment of persons who have been victims of bonded labour system (adult,
adolescents and children included), indecent behaviour with women folk accompanying
interstate migrant workmen working and living under bonded and slave like conditions,
complaints relating to outraging the modest of such women and complaints relation to non-
payment of wages or payment of wages lower then notified minimum wages or lower than
market wages where such minimum wages have not been notified. Examination of these
complaints supplemented by investigation through field visits have brought out/confirmed the
following: -

- Workmen are recruited or brought to the brick kiln by the agents of the principal
employer or middlemen on payment of advance and other inducements from one part of
the territory of India to another;
- Once recruited and brought to the worksite the promises made at the time of
recruitment are not kept, minimum rates of wages as notified by the appropriate
Government are not paid, the various labour welfare facilities and amenities as required
under Interstate Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of
Service) Act are denied to the workmen and the family members who invariably
accompany them are subjected to a lot of harassment and exploitation;

- At the close of brick kiln operations (October – June) the advances paid at the time of
recruitment as also subsequently in course of day to day operations are adjusted with
wages payable in an arbitrary manner to the total disadvantage of the labourer;

- Brick kiln is a scheduled employment and the responsibility for fixation, review and
revision of minimum wages under the Minimum Wages Act rests with the State
Government. In few pockets, the Brick Kiln Owner’s Associations have arrogated to
themselves this authority, have fixed minimum rates of wages (piece rate) which is 50%
of the standard rate fixed elsewhere and the owns take recourse to arbitrary and
unauthorised deduction from wages which according to the observation of the Supreme
Court (AIR 1982 SC 1473 1982 Lab IC 1646 WP No. 8143 of 1981) dated 18.982
amounts to forced labour under Art. 23 of the Constitution;

- Even though most of the workmen employed in brick kilns and stone quarries are
interstate migrant workmen entitled to journey allowance, displacement allowance,
equivalent to 50% of the wages payable, wages during the journey period as required u/s
14,15, and 16 of the Interstate Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and
Conditions of Service) Act, these statutory entitlements are not complied with;

- Overtime wages for work in excess of 9 hours a day or 48 hours a week at one and a half
times the rate of ordinary wage in agriculture and double the rate of ordinary wages in
respect of remaining scheduled employments are not paid. Similarly, weekly off debt in 7
days full wages for 6 days of work are also not paid;

- The labourers being ignorant, non-literate, non-numerate, unorganised, not being

conversant with the provisions of the law and the procedure established by law cannot
 raise their voice of protest or file claim applications under section 15 of Payment of
Wages Act or under Section 20 of Minimum Wages Act to get their legal entitlements;

- While examining about 400 cases, only in 1 case the commission found that the ground
level situation conformed to fulfilment of all the requirements under the Minimum
Wages Act, that the employer paid wages according to the law and has not detained
anyone;

- Almost in all cases, the DM’s rest content by filling a prosecution for non-maintenance
of records and registers. They forget the realities that the records are not maintained only
with the view to seeing that a stand can be taken as per convenience of the employer at
the relevant time which will be to the disadvantage of the workers. Maintenance of the
set record may not facilitate change of such a stand. In most of the case the DM’s were
satisfied with the enquiry conducted by a police Constable or by a police sub-inspector
for arriving at a conclusion that it was a monetary or wage dispute and on resolving the
same they manage to see that the labourers are sent back to their respective native places.

- The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act does not permit any compounding of the
offense or reaching a compromise between the bonded labour keeper and bonded
labourer. The action and conduct of DM’s in a large number of cases would amount to
not sufficiently aware of the provisions of the law (including case laws) and have treated
the entire issue rather casually and half-heartedly. In most of the cases instead of
deputing an officer who is subordinate to the DM and who exercises all or any of his
power and performs all or any of his functions as required u/s 10 of the Act, the DM’s
have asked an officer of Labour Deptt. or police to conduct the inquiry. These officers
sub-delegate the responsibility further down below as a result of which the content and
quality of the inquiry is watered down further and its outcome is anybody’s guess. It
eventually does not serve any purpose and the central objective of unearthing the bonded
labour system is defeated;

- In large number of cases, brick kilns and stone quarries operate without legal
sanctions/permissions and rather clandestinely. Such kilns and quarries are seldom
visited. No vigilance is maintained either through surprise field visits or through formal
 statutory inspections to ensure that a) there is compliance with provisions of all labour
laws which are applicable to the establishment and b) none is kept as bonded labour;

- Law mandates the payer to preserve the receipt for the amount paid to the payee. In the
absence of registers/records, the version of the payer that he has paid money in shape of
wages to the payee cannot be accepted. This elementary principle is being ignored by the
officers who are entrusted with the job of protecting the rights of innocent citizens who
belong deprived sections of the society (SC/ST). Unmerited and misplace sympathy of
the district administration towards employers of such established who are callous and
insensitive continues unabated for understand motives while the labourers continue to be
denied their just and fair entitlements;

- In large number of cases, the labourers have categorically stated in course of inquiry
ordered by the commission that advances were paid to them and thereafter, for the work
done, no wages were paid, or the wages paid were much less than the minimum wages
notified by the appropriate government. In a number of cases, the employers have come
out with an alibi that the amount was paid in advance to the labour contractors
responsible for recruiting the labourers and it was not meant for the labourers. They also
come out with a version that the responsibility to pay wages to the labourers befall on the
contractor and not on them, forgetting that they are the principal employers who have
the ultimate control over the affairs over the enterprise for the sake of the argument. It is
considered to be an arrangement made between the employer and the contractor for
carrying out particular items at work at the brick kiln and the contractor fails to make the
payment, the principal employer being the owner of the enterprise cannot
evade/circumvent his responsibility for making payment of wages in accordance with
law;
- It is also noticed in many cases that after issue of a notice and before the first visit after a
notice, the labourers who complained to the commission have left the worksite. The
employers in all such cases took a stand that the labourers who had filed the complaint
have left the worksite after settling their accounts and therefore there was no cause of
action obtaining at that point of time;

No clear authentic and transparent proof of such settlement of accounts has ever been
presented. What has been presented gives the impression of manipulated accounts with or
without signature/thumb impressions of the labourers (which in the absence of labourers are
 unverifiable). Besides, such a contention that the labourers have left the worksite on their
own is hard to accept. At a point of time when the jobs are being squeezed and it is difficult
to get a job, the ordinary presumption is that labourers would continue to work if according
to the statement of the employers and labourers are being paid according to law. It so
happened that the district administration when asked specifically for a thorough an discrete
probe into such contentious statements failed to rise to the occasion. They simply recorded
the statement of employers and closed the inquiry.

Experience of the Commission with the State Governments/UTs:

 The Commission through its Members and Special Rapporteur has got the performance of
14 major States in regard to pace and progress of implementation of Bonded Labour System
(Abolition) Act reviewed between 2000 to 2011. These States are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,
Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Tamil Naidu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The reviews have been repeated in
some of the States considering their level of performance. The State Governments have been
taken to confidence both before and in course of the review and the reviews have been fully
participative in as much as prior to the review; the response of the State Governments has
been elicited to a set of specific questions posed through a detailed questionnaire circulated
sufficiently in advance. Detailed PowerPoint presentations have been made by the Special
Rapporteur concerned prior to the review for complete familiarization of the functionaries of
the State government and district administration. Field visits have been undertaken with total
openness and full involvement of the State government and district administration. The
review reports have been shared with the State government concerned in time but regretfully
the response of the State Government in reporting compliance through ARTs has not been
as timely. There is a considerable scope for improvement in the content, quality and
timeliness in submission of ARTs. The following broad impressions have emanated from the
review reports under reference:-
 VCs at the district and sub divisional levels are not being reconstituted after expiry of 2
years;
 Rule 3 of Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Rules provides that pending reconstitution
the members of existing VCs shall continue to hold office which does not always
happen;
 Meetings of the VCs take place n closed chambers; Members of VCs seldom go out to
the to conduct inquiries or to select intelligence or to make an overall assessment of the
problem;
 Section 14(e) of Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act enjoins on the VCs the primary
responsibility for conducting surveys for the identification of the bonded labour system.
Experience shows that either the VCs have not been entrusted with this mandate or
wherever entrusted that have not lived up to this expected role. In place of VCs lower
echelons of bureaucracy (patwaris, talatis etc.) are being entrusted with the responsibility
for conducting surveys which do not produce the desired results;
 It is imperative that for capacity building and for professionalism in discharge of duties
and responsibilities of VCs as laid down in Section 14 of Bonded Labour System
(Abolition) Act, systematically planned efforts are needed for conducting orientation and
training of all the members of the VCs at the district ad sub divisional levels; this is not
being provided;
 Some States have State Level Screening Committees but most States do not have them.
Wherever there are Screening Committees, they do not review the functioning of the
VCs. In other words, there is no purposive and meaningful monitoring and evaluation of
the performance of the VCs;
 It has been observed that NGOs have been drafted by a few States for conducting
surveys for identification of bonded labourers. This is a welcome step which after the
findings of survey were presented, case of a very large number of bonded labourers
identified as such through such survey have dropped with sufficient justification by the
Magistrate who has been empowered u/s 21(1) to dispose of the cases presented before
him;
 Section 21(2) of Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act states that an offence under this
Act may be tried summarily by a Magistrate. The apex Court has also reiterated the
importance of summary procedure (Section 260 to Section 265 Cr.P.C). But the apex
court has simultaneously regretfully observed that a formal, rigid and legalistic approach
is being adopted and the bonded labourer is being made to go through a formal process
of trial with normal procedure for recording evidence under the Indian Evidence Act,
1872. The apex Court has further observed that a bonded labourer can never stand upto
 the rigidity and tyranny of the legal process due to poverty, ignorance, illiteracy and
backwardness;
 Release Certificates are not invariably being issued in time individually in favour of
released bonded labourers in a language which is intelligible to them. The contents of the
release certificates are not being explained to the released bonded labourers;
 Rehabilitation of released bonded labourers has been flawed on account of the followed
reasons:-
▪ An individual beneficiary oriented approach to the exclusion of a group oriented
approach rehabilitation is being generally adopted; it does not yield the desired
results; This is on account of the fact that (a) the erstwhile bonded labours keepers
continue to nurse a grievance against released bonded labourers; as a matter of fact,
they tend to be hostile to the latter (b) the milieu in which rehabilitation of freed
bonded labourers is taking place is not very conductive to the entire rehabilitation
effort (c) individually they will find it extremely difficult to withstand the pressures
unleashed on them by the bonded labourers keepers while they may be able to
grapple with them better as a group.
▪ The preferences, felt needs and interests of the freed bonded labourers are seldom
taken into account at the time of formulation of rehabilitation schemes;
▪ The content, quality and impact of rehabilitation of freed labourers is not being
rigorously evaluated by Institutes of Social Science and Research or by good, reliable,
social action oriented NGOs and corrections not being carried out on the outcome
of such evaluation;
▪ The State Government is not in a position to report if there has been any relapse to
debt bondage due to limited impact of rehabilitation efforts;
▪ There is no simultaneity in release and rehabilitation of freed bonded labourers as
repeatedly emphasized by the Supreme court;
▪ There is no institutional mechanism for ventilation and redressal of grievances of
freed bonded labourers when they face problems lake (a) no animal husbandry and
veterinary cover is provided to make productive assets truly productive (b) mortality
of productive assets due to lack of animal husbandry and veterinary cover and
difficult agro-climatic conditions (c) difficulty I allotment of homestead land and
agricultural land etc.;
▪ There is no vigilance on the working and living conditions of people who have been
permanently rehabilitated and who have been leading a life of destitution and
 deprivation and there is no sincere effort to ascertain (a) the first rehabilitation dose
has failed and (b) there is need for a repeat dose of assistance;
▪ The waiting period for receiving rehabilitation assistance sometimes exceeds 2 years;
in such an eventuality lapse back to debt bondage is inevitable;
 Interstate migration as a process is interlinked with debt bondage. There is a very close nexus
between lack of irrigation facilities dry nature of landscape, lack of avenues of stable and
durable employment in agriculture, need for consumption credit for sheer biological survival
leading to indebtedness, migration from one part of the territory of India to another and
eventual debt bondage. The incidence of migration linked with debt bondage gets heightened
when adequate care is not taken to arrest the following undesirable trends:-
 recruiting agents recruit person on payment of advance rather than clandestinely without
obtaining licence from the competent authority as required u/s 8 and 9 of ISMW (ROE
and COS) Act, 1979;
 principal employers employ interstate migrant workmen without obtaining a registration
certificate from the competent authority as required u/s 4 of ISMW (ROE and COS)
Act, 1979;
 no recruitment of interstate migrant workmen is without advance and no advance is
without a price tag; the price tag takes many forms such as (a)unduly long hours of work
(b) absence of spread over (c) non-payment of wages and overtime (d) deduction from
minimum wage for payment of middleman’s commission in arbitrary manner;
 instead of appropriate government fixing and notifying minimum wage for a scheduled
employment like brick kilns, the Brick Kiln Owners Association fixes the minimum
which is much lower than the minimum wage fixed and notified for same or similar
nature of work elsewhere;
 Even though Supreme Court in AIR 1982 SC 1473 1982 Lab IC 1646 (Asiad Worker’s
case) had termed deduction from minimum wage as violative of Art. 23 and amounts to
forced labour, some of the State Governments have while issuing notifications for
publication in official gazette, permitted payment of middleman’s commission and such a
trend has not been corrected even after the Commission held the same objectionable.
To sum up the following picture emerges in regard to the Commission’s experience with the
States:-

 In the mid 70s and 80s and in the wake of announcements of both the old( 1.7.75) and
new 20 point programmes (14.1.82) by the former Prime Minister of India – late Smt.
 Indira Gandhi some of the States had taken up implementation of programme relating to
identification, release and rehabilitation of bonded labourers with a lot if gusto and
tempo;
 This enthusiasm, however, died down soon afterwards;
 No fresh initiatives were taken by the major State Governments which are bonded
labour prone for undertaking surveys for identification of bonded labourers;
 Wherever surveys were undertaken is isolated cases after availing of financial assistance
from the Ministry of Labour @ Rs. 2 lakhs per district once in 3 years the following
outcomes were reported-
 No bonded labourers were found;
 Wherever bonded labourers were found an unusually large number of cases were
dropped on the ground that the survey was not properly conducted and bonded
labourers identified did not qualify to be bonded labourers u/s 2(g) of Bonded
Labour System (Abolition) Act;
 Even after dropping unusually large number of cases there was no desire or initiative
to rehabilitate those cases which were those of genuine bonded labourers;
 Generally speaking, it transpired in course of the review that with the states whose
performance was under review, either this was a non-issue or non-priority issue;
 A stand was taken in the past and continues to be taken even now that with
enactment of the law in 1976 but given effect to from 25.10.75 bonded labour system
has been abolished lock, stock and barrel and, therefore, is a thing of the past;
 All that was required to be done has been done and nothing more is required to be
done;
 Acknowledging the problem would be slur on the image of the Government;
 A flawed stand is also taken that a bonded labourer should not be released and
rehabilitated until and unless the bonded labour keeper has been convicted;
 Simultaneously the cases u/3 21 of Bonded Labour System (abolition) act drag on
indefinitely as every case is tried by a formal process by adopting a formal procedure
for recording of evidence under Indian Evidence Act, 1872. This is an unending
process which has thoroughly discouraged by the apex court on the ground that a
person who has been a victim of servitude for years and whose elan vital stands
stifled due to long repression can never stand up to the rigidities of the legal process.
Conclusion: Need for drawing up a perspective plan on elimination of bonded labour
system by all State governments/UTs

In the ultimate analysis, the Union Government may enact the law, may introduce a Centrally
Sponsored Scheme and may issue guidelines but the ultimate responsibility for elimination of
bonded labour system rests on the State Governments/UTs. For this purpose, it is necessary and
desirable that they draw up a perspective plan to be implemented over a period of 5 years in
which the order of priorities are competently listed in a logical, coherent and sequential manner
as under:-

Priority No. I: Rehabilitation of all freed bonded labourers who are awaiting
rehabilitation for a long time:

Past experiences has shown that freedom from bondage is meaningful only when the uncertainty
and insecurity associated with that freedom have been removed through productive and income
generating schemes;-

There are three distinct phases of such rehabilitation:-

 Immediate physical and economic rehabilitation; payment of subsistence allowance to

every freed bonded labourer soon after release;
 Provision of some avenues of employment on a stable and durable basis, payment of
need based minimum wages, establishing a linkage between the wages earned and the
Public Distribution System (so that the wage earner is enable to buy foodgrains/
commodities essential to his/her life through the PDS), supply of productive assets and
ensuring upkeep and maintenance of those assets. This will enable the freed bonded
labourers to start a new life apart from minimizing the incidence of migration;
 Undertaking a number of new social and economic programmes including formation of
indigenous self-help groups/thrift and credit groups, associations, cooperatives and trade
unions.

Amongst the States/UTs, maximum number of freed bonded labourers (600+) are awaiting
rehabilitation in U.P. A multi-prolonged drive should be launched starting with (a)
ascertaining felt needs, preferences and interests of the beneficiaries concerned. (b)
Formulation of rehabilitation schemes (c) making budget provision (d) enlisting the
involvement and support of ll concerned Departments in implementation of rehabilitation
schemes in a holistic and integrated manner with a group approach to rehabilitation.
Priority No. II: Disposal of all pending cases at the level of Executive Magistrates:

The State Governments u/s 21(1) of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act is
authorized to confer upon specified Executive Magistrates the powers of Judicial Magistrates
of the first or second class, as the case may be, for trial of offences under the Act. Section
21(2) provides for adoption of a summary procedure for expeditious disposal of all such
cases. The administrative department in every State/ UT concerned may, in consultation
with their respective Law Deptt. And Registrar, High Court issue a set of guidelines for
summary trial and summary disposal of all cases instituted under the Bonded Labour(
Abolition) Act. Such guideline should be sentto all trying magistrates, keeping the interests of
defending the bonded labourers uppermost in mind and in tune with the spirit of the
judgement of the Supreme Court in WP No. 2135 of 1982 (AIR 1984 SC 802 Bandhua
Mukti Morcha Vs. Union of India) dated 16.12.83.

Issue of guidelines should be supplemented by a programme of orientation and graining of

executive magistrates appointed by the State Government to try all cases under the Act.

Simulated trails involving the bonded labour keeper and bonded labourers should be
organized as part of such orientation and training in order to enable the trying magistrates to
internalize, with all the seriousness of concern, the importance of summary trail as a very
useful and effective tool of delivering instant justice to a person (a bonded labourer) who is
not used to stand up in the witness box and depose evidence right in the presence of his
oppressor. Since a number of finer points of law are involved, such orientation and holding
simulation trials as a part of such training should be conducted by a retired Judge of the High
Court/ District and Sessions Court/ Members of Superior Judicial Service to be identified
on the strength of their empathy and sensitivity to the cause of liberation of bonded
labourers.

Priority No. III: Complete documentation of Identified Bonded labourers:

Such documentation is a statutory requirement (Rule 7 of the Bonded Labour System

(Abolition) Rules, 1976). The primary purpose behind such documentation is to keep a close
and constant vigil on the states of freed bonded labourers who are waiting to undergo the
process of rehabilitation or who are already undergoing such a process, The need for such
documentation is all the more relevant and urgent is case of migrant workers, some of whom
may have been working under conditions akin to debt bondage. It is necessary to identify
 them, release them from bondage and repatriate them to their native place for rehabilitation,
if they so wish, and keep a vigil eye on the process of their rehabilitation.

Functionaries of development administration should visit and interact with the freed bonded
labourers who are undergoing the difficult process of rehabilitation, ascertain their felt needs,
preferences and interests and the extent to which the process of rehabilitation is beneficial to
them. Every such visit should end up by establishing an emotive bond with the freed bonded
labourers and their family members. This would assure and reassure them

That (a) they are free entities to inalienable human rights and to lead a decent and dignified
human existence (b) debt need not regulate their destiny.

Priority No. : IV Sensitization through orientation and training:

Training is an important input for human resource development. It imparts knowledge,

information skill. It removes cynicism and scepticism. It is tool for learning by sharing as well as
tool for carrying conviction. It sensitizes the insensitive.

Sensitization is basically the reaction to a stimulus or stimuli. If the reaction is positive much of
the objective of orientation could be said to have been achieved. To illustrate, if a law or ruling is
capable of being interpreted differently, it should be interpreted in a manner which makes it
beneficial to the person that is the poor, deprived and dispossessed for whom the law/ ruling
has been enacted. If a district administration holds a view that no release order should be issued
o no rehabilitation should be initiated till the bonded labour keeper has been convicted the
district administration is acting insensitively. If, as it happened in Neeraj Chaudhary Vs. State of
UP (AIR 1984 SC 1099 WP (Crl.) No. 1263 of 1982), a bonded labour is made to sit on the floor
and made to depose evidence in presence his oppressor i.e., the bonded labour keeper who is
sited in a podium/ platform and is made to respond to a number of inconvenient and
uncomfortable questions that would tantamount to an insensitive act. If in a situation where a
complaint has been files to the commission by an individual worker or a group of workers and
the employer, on a scent of such an act, bundles up all the workers and pushes them
underground or dispatches them to their native place in a truck and some of the workers came in
contact with the live wire and get electrocuted, it will be a callous and insensitive act on the part
of the employer concerned (as none will be available for interrogation at the time of inquiry)
apart from being macabre tragedy.
Training should be used as a powerful tool of dealing with all such insensitive action and
conduct and making the law enforcement agencies, errant employers and their minions (Sardar,
Jamadars, Khatadars and Munshis) more humane and sensitive. If not, the training remains as a
chock and top affair and is no training at all.

In order that training is used as an effective tool of sensitization we need to introduce role play
and simulation exercise to create the desired impact.

Priority No. V: Identification of unfree labourers who are bonded

There are two aspects in the identification process. One is the machinery and other is the
methodology to be followed. The bonded labour system (abolition) act speaks of the vigilance
committees as the machinery responsible for identification but it has not laid down any precise
methodology thereof.

The Supreme Court in Neeraj Chaudhary vs. State of MP (AIR 1984 SC 1099 WP (Crl.) No.1263
of 1982) has emphasised the importance of involving social action groups operating at the grass
root level with the task of identification of bonded labourers.

This direction of the apex court notwithstanding, various states/ UTs continue to get survey
conducted for identification of bonded labour system with the help of lower echelons of
revenue, rural development and Panchayati raj departments without adequate orientation and
training. This has not produced the desired result.

In a few states where NGOs have been involved with the survey their findings have not found
acceptance with the state government/ statutory authority concerned.

The vigilance committees at the district and sub divisional level are the appropriate statutory
authorities to conduct a survey u/s 14 (e) for identification of bonded labour system.

The vigilance committee may involve good, reliable and committed NGO’s in the task of
conducting survey in a particular area (village, GP, Block) but needs to keep these following
guidelines in view:

 Identification of an area prone to bonded labour system;

 Constitution of a survey team (may be two or three member teams);
 Design of a simple questionnaire for survey;
 Orientation of members of the survey team to conduct the survey in an unorthodox and
unconventional manner as possible;
  Canvassing information from the households/ establishments through a system of
simple, informal and non- intrusive methodology (as advocated by Late Shri S. R.
Sankaran) in the mid - 70s for survey of bonded labourers in Telangana area of A.P.);
 Compilation, analysis and drawing of conclusions;
 In view of the vastness of the size of the country and very large number of households
selectivity should be the key principle in the survey. Pockets in different parts of India
which are dry, drought prone and poverty striken and prone to cycles of drought,
migration, indebtedness and bondage could be identified and surveys undertaken on a
selective basis by VCs in collaboration with a team of good, reliable and committed
NGOs. Student volunteers (from schools, colleges and universities) could also be
involved.

The data pertaining to identification of bonded labourers on the basis of survey should
be computerised so that such data can be retrieved as and when necessary.

Priority no. VI: Preventing occurrence and recurrence of bonded labour system:

Landless agricultural labourers, share croppers, persons below poverty line, migrant workers etc.,
turn to money – lenders and middle men for loan/ debt/ advance partly for biological survival
and partly for ceremonial and other needs. In the process they get indebted and bonded to their
creditor due to their inability to repay the loan.

Such a contingency is preventable and can be prevented. For this it may be useful to adopt the
following strategies:-

A. Access to Micro Credit:

Micro credit is the provision of a broad range of financial services (deposits, loans,
payment service, money transfer and insurance) to poor and low income households and
their micro enterprises. The modalities for institutionalising micro credit are:-
 Target the poorest of the poor with women among adult members of a poor
household as the priority target group;
 Conduct baseline survey amongst the targeted population;
 Demarcate a specific number of households for the formation of SHGs (one
SHG to have about 10 – 12 members in the maximum to make it small, compact
and manageable);
 Built up a climate of trust, goodwill and solidarity among them;
  Facilitate interest free loans from the fund for food, clothing, medical and other
subsistence needs of the members of the group (s);
 Enable the members to determine the repayment schedule based on the capacity
of each member to repay;
 Facilitate loans for income generating activities (poultry, piggery, fisheries,
horticulture, sericulture, arts/ crafts) to break the vicious cycle of low income,
low savings and low investments;
 Organise meetings at convenient locations to spread the message of micro credit
and to carry conviction to clients on the principle of ‘Reliability, Affordability and
Sustainability’ of services;
 Institutionalize training of members of the SHGs as a tool of unleashing the
creative and productive capacity of the poor;

The government of India has adopted a proactive policy towards micro credit for the last 30
years. In ensuring this, the state can take the primary through not the sole initiative. It can enlist
the involvement and support of NGOs who are largely political or non – political and whose
only ideology is development and empowerment of the poor through a philosophy of self -
reliance.

B. Implementation of land reforms and productivity of land:

Any programme of land reforms should be viewed as a tool of removing inequality in

possession of land, inequality in access to means of production (water, fertiliser,
pesticide, credit) and inequality in reaping the usufructs from the land at a fair and
remunerative price (through the policy of procurement of government).

In the context of the debt bondage such reform would have the following components:
 Legislation should be enacted banning purchase of land belonging to members of
SC/ ST who do not belong to SC/ST;
 Such legislation exists in many states for members of ST; it needs to be strictly
enforced;
 All states/UTs should enact and enforce such legislation for members of SC;
 The proposed legislation should cover, in addition to land allotted by
government, lands otherwise owned by a member of SC/ST community;
 A district survey should be undertaken to identify the extend of landlessness,
extend of land taken over from members of SC/ST by manipulation/ fraud and
cost of private land that may have to be purchased;
 A simple survey should be undertaken to identify forest dwellers who are
members of the ST community, who have occupied and are cultivating forest
land for generations so that such land is formally allotted in their favour under
the ST Forest Dweller Act of 2007;
 A systematically planned drive should be launched by every state government to
restore land to members of SC/ST;
 Efforts should be made to remove gaps between the date of allotment, date of
handling over ROR (patta) in support of ownership and the date of physical
possession;
 Every unit of land allotted and given possession should be developed to its full
productive capacity;
 Wherever groundwater resources are available, irrigation through dug wells
should be provided;
 Wherever rainfall is less and groundwater has been depleted due to excessive
exploitation, the possibility of improving water table to provide access to
irrigation with multiple other benefits (soil conservation, improving soil
moisture) through integrated watershed planning, management and development
on the model of Anna Hazare of RalegamSidhi in Ahmed nagar District of
Maharashtra should be explored.

For the purpose of allotment of house sites and agricultural land, three categories of
land may be considered that is ceiling surplus land, Government land (including
forest land) or private land. A few parameters in the policy of allotment to be
considered are :-

 Ceiling laws should be properly implemented and carried to their logical

conclusion;
 A drive should be launched to identify more ceiling surplus land (then what has
been found so far) for allotment;
 Any relaxation in ceiling laws should be sparingly considered;
  All land owned by the central or the state Government or any other public
authority and which is not required for any public purpose should be made
available for distribution amongst the landless labourers with the highest priority
in such allotment being accorded to members of SC, ST and freed bonded
labourers.
C. Access to avenues of full, freely chosen and productive employment:

The above has several implications such as:-

 Every able bodied worker should be given an opportunity to work as and when
he/she is available for such work (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme launched in February, 2006 by the Prime minister at
Anantapur, at A.P. and since extended to all the districts guaranteeing/ making
available 100 days of employment in rural areas).
 On the job and institutional skill training should be provided to every worker;
 Such skills do not create new jobs but enhance employability of every skilled
workers for the exiting jobs and the jobs to be created in future;
 Such skills should be multiple, touching hitherto untreated areas such as
communication skills, survival skills, leadership skills, vocational skills,
entrepreneurial skills, managerial and supervisory skills, attitudinal and
behavioural skills;
 In the light of sweeping changes in the labour market, the need for continuous
review, revision and up gradation of skill training curriculum and institutional
mechanism for imparting skill training is imperative;
 Jobs should not be shifted unilaterally and arbitrarily at too frequent intervals;
 Employment security and income security should go together. Employment
security is protection against unfair and arbitrary dismissal from employment.
Income security is based on a reasonable assurance that current levels of income
will be protected while providing for assurance of compensation or support in
the eventuality of fall in income

D. Enforcement of the law on minimum wage:

 Minimum wage is the rock bottom subsistence wage below which no industry or
employer should go although nothing prevents them to go above the statutorily notified
minimum. The apex court in AIR 1982 SC 1473 1982 Lab IC 1646 WP No. 8143 of
1981 on 18.9.82 had held that denial of minimum wage amounts to existence of forced
labour. The apex court in its subsequent judgements (Reptacos Brett Co. case) laid down
elaborate norms and criteria which should be kept in mind by government while fixing
minimum wages. In another earlier case (Crown Aluminium Co. case) the Supreme Court
held that an establishment which cannot pay minimum wage has no right to exist.

In concrete operational terms, the following action needs to be initiated to fix, review,
revise and enforce minimum wage so that wage employment is remuneration and there is
no economic deprivation:-
 The existing schedules of employment notified the Minimum Wages Act should
be reviewed and new scheduled added after conducting a survey so that
maximum number of economic activities are brought within the purview of law;
 The procedure for fixing, reviewing and revising minimum wages should be
made simpler than now, should take less time to be put into effect so that wages
fixed and revised are in tune with the ground level realities;
 In view of the rapid changes taking place in the labour market, minimum wages
should be reviewed once every two years (as against five years which is the case
now);
 A substantial portion of the wages should be paid in cash and not in kind since
computation of cash value of wages paid in kind is fraught with severe
limitations;
 All cases of unauthorised deductions and those of payments of middlemen’s
commission should be severely dealt with by the law enforcing authority;
 The principles of ‘weekly time off’ and ‘spread over’ should be recognised and
deserved as sacrosanct;
 The procedure for adjudication of claims u/s 20 of Minimum Wages Act should
be streamlined and made more time bound.

Priority No. VII: Strengthening & Activating Vigilance Committees:

  All vigilance Committees should be reconstituted in the manner envisaged in law
once every 2 years;
 The chairperson of these committees at the distinct and sub divisional level
should ensure that they meet at close and regular intervals;
 It would be appropriate if after the first meeting and after laying down certain
guidelines the chairperson and members set out on field visits for identification
of bonded labour system;
 A selective and focused approach would yield desired results; pockets which are
prone to debt bondage may be identified first on the basis of locally available
intelligence;
 On the basis of field visits and surveys and findings thereof the committees
should be able to place concrete cases before the executive magistrate appointed
u/s 21 of the act;
 It may be appropriate if outside the ambit of law and purely as an administrative
measure national and state level bodies are set up to oversee the implementation/
enforcement of the provision of law including a review of performance of
vigilance committees
 The body at the national level may be called ‘ National authority on elimination
of forced/ bonded labour; similarly the body at the state level may be called ‘
state authority on elimination of forced/ bonded labour;
 The national authority may be headed by the union labour minister with
representatives from the planning commission , ministries of rural and urban
development , home, law, information & broadcasting, health and family welfare,
education, women and child development, social justice and empowerment and
tribal development as members;
 The state authority may be headed by the chief minister of the state, it may have
representative from planning, labour, rural and urban development, home, law,
welfare of SC and ST, Health, women and child development departments as
members;
 These bodies will be responsible for formulation of policy and issue of directions
for launching a countrywide advocacy/ campaign for elimination of forced/
bonded labour.

Priority No. VIII: Strengthening and activating the grievance machinery:

Law is merely a framework, an enabling mechanism. While a law is enacted with the best of
intentions, the duties and responsibilities of each actor are elaborately laid down in the
framework of the law, in actual practice these are not performed or the performance is
perfunctory. This is what gives rise to grievances of the aggrieved.

To illustrate, the bonded labour keeper may not respect the statutory liability to repay the
bonded debt which stands extinguished. He may not vacate the attachment for recovery of debt
which stands extinguished. He may not vacate the attachment for recovery of debt. He may not
restore possession of any property belonging to a bonded labour or a member of his family or
any other dependant (which was forcibly taken over by the creditor).

It is necessary and desirable that there should be a mechanism as well as a procedure for airing
and redressing all such grievances. The mechanism can be created and institutionalised at a
number of levels such as:-

 Ministry of labour at the level of central government;

 State labour department or such other department which handles the work of
identification, release and rehabilitation of bonded labourers at the level of state
government;
 District collector/ Magistrate at the sub divisional/ taluka /block level.

The procedure to be followed at each level should be clearly laid down and should essentially
cover the following:-

 Entertaining and registering the complaint;

 Forwarding the complaint to the concerned quarter for investigation and submission of a
report within a stipulated time limit ;
 Disposal of the complaint by issue of a proper order by the competent authority
 Communication of the order to the aggrieved;
 Laying down a procedure for filing an appeal against the said order in case the
complainant is aggrieved by the said order ;
 Laying down a procedure for constant review of the number of complaint filed, number
of complaints disposed and number of complaints outstanding at the district and state
levels.

To conclude elimination of banded labour system is not and cannot be the task or responsibility
of one single ministry or department or agency. What we need is the whole hearted involvement
of all the Ministries / department/ agencies including trade unions and NGO are to produce the
desired results. One needs a multi- pronged and coordinated approach so that a number of
operational areas can be properly coordinated by the nodal agency, all the loose ends tied up and
timely corrective action taken to ensure the desired results in right time.

A perspective plan essentially provides a direction which the policy formulators and programme
implementers should follow. It is not primarily a search for resources although resources – both
physical and financial are extremely important and have to be tailored to the need. Resources are
needed for conducting surveys for identification and enumeration of bonded labourers.
Resources are needed for orientation and sensitization of a large number of functionaries at
various levels. Resources are needed for rehabilitation of freed bonded labourers. Resources are
needed for monitoring, coordination and supervision as also for evaluation of the content,
process and impact of the programme. The size of resources will, therefore, require to be
precisely worked out and the programme, in particular, rehabilitation cannot be allowed to suffer
merely on account of dearth of resources.