Gandhinagar, Sep 3 The National Human Rights Commission on Thursday said that it will prepare a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to help authorities identify and prevent bonded labour in Gujarat.
NHRC Chairperson Justice V Ramasubramanian said 27 bonded labour cases were taken up during the commission's two-day hearings in Gujarat, and officials were sensitised about the legal presumption of bonded labour in cases where workers are hired by paying advances.
The NHRC held its 'Full Commission Camp Sitting and Open Hearing' at the National Forensic Sciences University in Gandhinagar on September 2 and 3.
The bench of Chairperson Justice V Ramasubramanian and members Justice (Dr) Bidyut Ranjan Sarangi and Vijaya Bharathi Sayani heard cases related to bonded labour, custodial deaths, police excesses, industrial accidents, civic negligence and other alleged rights violations.
The chairperson said the issue of bonded labour was particularly important in seasonal industries such as brick kilns, as they typically employ migrant labourers who have often left when officials carry out an inspection.
"By the time a complaint is addressed to us and we call for an Action Taken Report, by the time an inspection team goes, the season also goes," Ramasubramanian told reporters in Gandhinagar.
District authorities had reported that none of the 27 cases appeared to be cases of bonded labour, but the NHRC found that there were "missing links" in the investigations, he said.
"In many cases, the owners of brick kilns had admitted that they had paid advance money to a broker to bring workers from outstation. Most of these persons are migrant labour," he said.
Under the law, payment of an advance coupled with a condition that a worker must work for a specified period or produce a specified quantity can attract a presumption of bonded labour, even if it does not appear so, the chairman noted.
"We are now trying to develop an SOP for properly enforcing the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act," he said.
The NHRC full bench took up 45 cases on Wednesday and passed final orders in 27 of them. A Division Bench also heard cases on Thursday.
According to NHRC Secretary General and CEO Piyush Goyal, the Division Bench heard 57 cases, of which 46 were closed with final orders, while further reports were sought in the remaining 11 cases.
The state government awarded and disbursed approximately Rs 3.5 crore in compensation to victims over the two days.
One of the cases involved a woman from Amreli who had been allegedly arrested and detained unlawfully. The commission awarded a compensation of Rs 7.5 lakh to her.
In another case, the commission found negligence on the part of police officials after an arrested person allegedly used a bedsheet to commit suicide.
The commission also dealt with a chemical factory fire and explosion in Bharuch where five workers died. In another incident at a Dahej chemical plant, four workers died after inhaling toxic gas. Their families received more than Rs 2 crore in compensation.
In a significant case involving members of a Scheduled Caste community, the NHRC intervened after they were allegedly forced to travel 12 km to cremate their dead.
"Following notices from the commission, local authorities identified nearby grazing land for a crematorium and the Gram Panchayat passed a resolution for conversion of the land. The facility is expected to be ready within one to two months," the chairman said.
The NHRC also took cognisance of the recent hooch tragedy in Bhavnagar and sought an Action Taken Report from the authorities. It has also taken cognisance of the Delhi pellet gun incident and issued notices, he said.
Ramasubramanian said complaints before the commission largely concerned police action or inaction, including unlawful detention, failure to act on complaints and alleged negligence.
The commission also held discussions with NGOs, human rights defenders and senior Gujarat government officials. Civil society representatives raised issues related to welfare schemes, certificates and difficulties faced by citizens in approaching multiple departments.
