A month ago, 62 bonded labourers were rescued from a mango grove and a flower farm in Kancheepuram and Erode, respectively. A month earlier, in June, 39 were rescued from a borewell digging company, a wood cutting unit and a brick kiln in Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Krishnagiri and Vellore districts. “We have been seeing the presence of bonded workers in Tiruporur, and on the OMR and ECR stretches in the district. The Revenue Divisional Officers (RDOs) have been conducting frequent raids,” said Kancheepuram Collector P Ponnaiah, talking about the recent operations to rescue such labourers.  

Bonded labour is prevalent as a long-term relationship between the employer and the employee through loans, and is linked to conditions of labour, payment of wages and duration of work. These labourers, who fall into the trap owing to poverty and debts, have been soft targets across various industries, from the brick kilns in Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram to the textile units in Coimbatore or Namakkal. According to activists, there is a consistent presence of bonded labourers in 19 fields of work. 

According to the data on bonded labour identification and rehabilitation in the last decade or so, the numbers of rescued bonded labourers have seen a varying pattern—from 406 in 2010 to a whopping 1,020 in 2016-2017. An analysis by Dr Devasitham from the International Justice Mission (IJM), an NGO working in the field of human trafficking, has shown that Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Villupuram, Krishnagiri, Vellore and Tiruvannamalai are districts with higher prevalence of bonded labour.

Calling the bonded labour system a chronic issue in Tamil Nadu, K Krishnan, executive director, Foundation for Sustainable Development, an organisation working for the rights of women and children, tribal groups, and environment conservation, said that the concentration of Irula tribes makes the issue more prevalent in the north eastern part of the State. “The tribe has a low literacy rate. The other vulnerable groups are the Arundathiyars, apart from inter-district and inter-state migrants. The issue persists because of the stakeholders who give it less priority, ignorance and lack of knowledge on labour laws among the vulnerable groups, apart from the greed of the perpetrators,” he added.

He also said that the prevalence could be more in other districts like Cuddalore and added that more such persons rescued does not indicate higher prevalence in many cases.

David Sunder Singh, an advocate practising at the Madras High Court, said that while the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018, attempts to be an effective deterrent as it calls for speedy trial and quick action, what was lacking is the estimation of numbers. “It is believed that there are more than one crore bonded labourers in the country. And at the moment, it is a reactive procedure to rescue them through NGOs that give a complaint. We don’t know the exact number. The Supreme Court has given directions to conduct a survey in the States. But once the State does it and gives a number, the next question will be what is it doing to free them,” he said. 

Krishnan added that they have identified 4,63,000 bonded labourers across the country and about 5,689 rescued are in the process of rehabilitation. The key to eradicating bonded labour was the coming together of different departments. “There is lack of coordination between the Revenue Department that identifies and rescues them, and the Labour Department that is responsible for their rehabilitation. While the police should do the prosecution, other departments like Rural Development, Women Welfare and Education should also be roped in. The lack of coordination is what has left us grappling with the issue, even 42 years after the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 came into effect,” he noted.

The Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourer, 2016, was aimed at revamping the Central scheme. Under the revamped scheme, financial assistance is provided for rehabilitation of  rescued bonded labourers: Rs 1 lakh for an adult male beneficiary, Rs 2 lakh for special category beneficiaries such as children, including orphans or those rescued from organised and forced begging rings or other forms of forced child labour, and women, and Rs 3 lakh in cases of bonded or forced labour involving extreme cases of deprivation or marginalisation such as transgender persons, or women or children rescued from ostensible sexual exploitation such as brothels, massage parlours, placement agencies, etc., or trafficking, or in cases of differently abled persons, or in situations where the District Magistrate deems fit. In addition, Rs 20,000 is provided as immediate assistance.  “The State has appointed nodal officers in each district to help the rescued persons file FIRs, open zero-balance bank accounts, avail Aadhaar cards, etc.,” said an official from the Department of Labour and Employment.

The official added that the State Action Plan for Release, Rescue and Rehabilitation of Bonded Labour apart from implementation of Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, is aimed at bringing coordination between departments, institutionalising bonded labour abolition trainings across government departments, and rehabilitating the bonded labour rescued and freed from bondage.

Bernard D’Sami from the Loyola Institute of Social Science Training and Research (LISSTAR), said that the focus should be on source-level or source-area intervention. “If an area is developed with education, employment and MNREGA implementation, they will not end up as bonded labour. Distress migration and forced migration result in bonded labours. If a man and woman earn well, their children will go to school. That will nip the problem in the bud. At the panchayat and village levels, officials should make sure that government schools are functioning and also ensure effective implementation of Public Distribution System,” he said. 

The IJM analysis stresses on creating awareness, regular inspection of facilities by government officials and periodical survey on bonded labour in areas where the problem is prevalent. They also call for identifying causes of bonded labour and working towards combating it, setting up various fora for released bonded labourers, developing community-based leaders and training of government officials on bonded labour system and rehabilitation processes.

D’ Sami pointed out that earlier the labourers were from specific districts like Villupuram or Tiruvannamalai, but now they come from poorer States like Odisha.

“Bonded labour was only prevalent in brick kiln or construction industry. But now it has spread across areas, making it difficult to enumerate them. Constitutional provisions are clear about the abolition and there is no reason for it to continue,” he said. A higher number of rescued labourers is a good sign, said Advocate David Sundar Singh.

“We have empowered government officials to act upon it. We have a State action plan, which is included in the curriculum of the Tamil Nadu Police Training College,” he remarked.

Tears well up in his eyes as Arumugam narrates his ordeal of being a bonded labourer, along with his wife Lakshmi, at a farm near Tiruttani in Tiruvallur district for over 18 months. “During the time, my nephew died in Arakkonam. I was not even allowed to go to his funeral,” he said, wiping tears.

Arumugam and Lakshmi’s life of abject poverty prompted them to take up an offer of Rs 45,000 per year without any questions asked about the nature of the job or working hours. But once they came in, they were made to work from dawn to dusk, and were cut off from the outside world by the farm owner after they borrowed Rs 20,000 from him.

They worked hard without break, tending to the farm that comprised mango trees and sugarcane field, and built water channels. “Our children were studying in a school nearby. But they had to drop out due to our condition,” Lakshmi said.

There was no respite from the abuses or threats from the owner, recollected Arumugam. “The work took a toll on my health. I had become weak and even suffered a bout of chicken pox. I begged with him to allow me to rest. My wife almost fell at his feet. I was allowed to take rest, but I would be called several times every day. He demanded I return at the earliest,” he said. However, there was no sign of the money promised. “It used to be Rs 100 or Rs 50 on and off but we didn’t get the remaining money. We feared his wrath and hesitated to ask him,” Lakshmi said.

“Our release came in the form of a sudden realisation that enough is enough. We ran outside and got into the first vehicle that was outside. We reached the district officials and recounted the horror.” The couple now works as daily wage labourers in the same village. “Earlier we were scared to live in the same village. But we have the support of the community.”

“We got into this trap because of our poverty. We won’t let our children get into it. They are now studying in a government school. They shouldn’t end up like us,” said Lakshmi.