Bhubaneswar: The state govt has written to the district collectors of migration-prone areas to furnish information on the rehabilitation of rescued bonded labourers within two weeks. The information has to be submitted to the Supreme Court which had directed all state govts to approach the issue of inter-state trafficking of bonded labourers, including children, in a unified way.
The SC directive had come while hearing a writ petition filed on Nov 21 on the rehabilitation of rescued bonded labourers.
“It has been further directed that the inter-state trafficking and release certificate need to be addressed,” read the letter sent to the collectors of Bargarh, Balangir, Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Kalahandi, Malkangiri, Cuttack, Puri, Sambalpur, Nuapada and Subarnapur.
A bonded labour release certificate is issued to the rescued labourers as proof that they are free from bondage, and which helps them obtain various govt benefits.
The letter further stated that in Odisha, 2,411 bonded labourers were rescued from different states between 2016-17 and 2024. “As per the ministry of labour and employment, the rescued bonded labourers, in addition to financial assistance, need to be provided with rehabilitation assistance like housing, employment, food security and allotment of housing site and land for the landless. In order to check inter-state distressed migration, the rehabilitation of rescued bonded labourers is necessary,” the letter read.
Officials said the rehabilitation amount for rescued bonded labour before 2016 was Rs 20,000, which included Rs 1,000 given by the destination state and Rs 19,000 by the source state. After 2017, as per the Central Sector Scheme of Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers, Rs 1 lakh is provided to a male labourer, while a female rescued labourer gets Rs 2 lakh.
The govt provides Rs 3 lakh for labourers treated as a special category (abused, disabled and trans). The new norms also state that an immediate (soon after rescue) cash assistance of Rs 30,000 has to be given by the destination state.