The State government, it appears, does not want to learn from the bitter experiences of the past. Taken up after 12 years, the re-survey of bonded labourers has been going on at a snail’s pace as officials concerned remain lackadaisical.
The re-survey was ordered in July 2012 by the Self-Employment Programme (SEP) wing of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) department.
The SEP had also released Rs two lakh to each district to conduct the re-survey and directed that a report be submitted soon. But no district administration had obliged so far, official sources said.
The last survey was conducted in 2001-02, following the rescue of chained bonded labourers from Hangarahalli village in Hassan district in 2000. A stunned government then made it mandatory that bonded labourers be surveyed every three years.
Effective steps were also suggested to eradicate the menace. Successive governments, however, have slept through.
Section 2 of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 had defined bonded labour as the situation of loss of freedom to sell one’s labour because one has received a loan (or some other economic benefit or any social obligation).
The previous survey had identified 1,818 confirmed cases of bonded labour in the State with Mysore district alone accounting for 696 cases followed by Kolar with 370 cases.
Other districts that followed were Tumkur (360), Chamarajanagar (75), Koppal (49), Hassan (48), Mandya (45) and Udupi and Kodagu (one each).
50 reminders
According to official sources, nearly 50 reminders have been sent to the 15-member vigilance committees headed by the Deputy Commissioners, to speed up the survey work. But many districts have not even begun the work.
It appears the survey is not their top priority. The district officials hardly have time to hold meetings, commence the survey, identify the bonded labourers, and rescue and rehabilitate them.
In its last reminder to the committees, the SEP set June 10, 2013 as the deadline for completing the survey. The SEP Director, M Deepa, says steps to complete the survey should be taken as soon as possible.
“Most labourers in Karnataka appear to have migrated from North India. The re-survey will reveal the instances of bonded labour, if any,” she said.