Bonded labour persists even five decades after enactment of law: Judge

Nearly five decades after the enactment of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, the practice of bonded labour has not been completely eradicated from society, said senior civil judge and member-secretary of the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) Srinivas Navale.

He was speaking after unveiling the flag of the Kalyana Karnataka Bonded Labour Liberation Federation and posters on the prevention of child marriage and inaugurating a one-day workshop on the prevention of human trafficking and eradication of bonded labour here on Thursday.

Mr. Navale said ensuring every person’s right to live with dignity, guaranteed under the Constitution, should be a priority for the government. Identification, liberation and rehabilitation of bonded labourers were essential to ensure that they could lead dignified lives, he said.

Srinivas Navale, senior civil judge and member-secretary of the District Legal Services Authority, speaking at a workshop, in Kalaburagi on Thursday.
| Photo Credit:
ARUN KULKARNI

He stressed that preventing bonded labour and human trafficking was not the responsibility of the Labour Department or the Women and Child Development Department alone. All government departments and representatives of non-governmental organisations should work together to identify and protect victims, the judge said.

Referring to the recent rescue of two persons from bonded labour in Sale Beeranahalli village in Chincholi taluk and instances of exploitation of workers in Chamarajanagar, Mr. Navale said the Supreme Court had held that payment of wages below the minimum prescribed level could amount to bonded labour.

He called upon Panchayat Development Officers to create awareness at the grassroots level. Officials should respond immediately to information provided by informants and voluntary organisations and ensure rehabilitation of victims, he said.

Administrative will and coordinated efforts were needed to protect poor migrant workers from other States from exploitation and make Kalaburagi a district free from exploitation, he said.

William Christopher, member of the State-level high-powered committee and the Bonded Labour Rehabilitation Scheme, said Article 21 of the Constitution guaranteed every citizen the fundamental right to live freely and with dignity. Eradication of social evils such as bonded labour, child marriage, child labour and human trafficking was essential to ensure that this right reached the last person in society, he said.

He said social security and livelihood support should reach exploited and vulnerable people just as the Jal Jeevan Mission sought to provide drinking water to households. Children who had dropped out of school should be brought back into education and provided appropriate skill development and livelihood opportunities, he said.

Every person subjected to exploitation should be rescued and rehabilitated and brought back into the mainstream of society, Mr. Christopher said.

He said the State government, through a notification issued in July 2024, initiated the process of appointing officials to work towards regulating and eradicating bonded labour and creating awareness in the Kalyana Karnataka region. He called for collective efforts to build a model Karnataka free from child marriage, bonded labour and sexual exploitation.

Additional Superintendent of Police Mahesh Megannavar, Assistant Commissioner of Police Praveen Naik, District Child Welfare Committee chairman Vishwaradhya K. Itagi, Women and Child Development Department officer Shivasharanappa, District Labour Officer Halimani, and representatives of the District Child Protection Unit, Child Helpline and Margadarshi organisation, besides representatives of various NGOs, were present.