Centre to create rehabilitation fund for bonded labourers

Labour Ministry will create a fund to facilitate the rehabilitation of bonded labourers in states, where the practice is prevalent.
The fund will provide a corpus of Rs 10 lakh, to be at the disposal of district collectors, and will be utilised to rehabilitate persons who are freed from bonded labour.
"Next week the Ministry will release a new scheme, which will create a fund for the rehabilitation of bonded labourers in the country. It is being done as the previous law has not been much effective," Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya told reporters here.
He added this fund will be provided entirely by the Centre and created in states where the practice is prevalent such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

"We are also discussing with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment as well as the Ministry of Women and Child Development over this," Dattatreya said.
A centrally-sponsored scheme for rehabilitation of bonded labourers is under implementation since 1978 through which the Centre contributes Rs 10,000 for each rehabilitation.
Besides, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 empowers Executive Magistrates to exercise powers of Judicial Magistrate of first or second class for trial of offences.
Also Vigilance Committees at District and Sub-divisional levels have been prescribed to identify and rehabilitate bonded labourers.