Friday, December 20, 2013

‘No correct info on labourers migrating for advance loan’

At a time when large scale ‘distress’ migration goes on under the nose of district administrations in poverty-stricken KBK districts, Odisha government has no idea how many people have migrated to other States for work in lieu of loan advances.

In the recently concluded winter session of the Odissa Assembly, Labour Minister Bijoyshree Routray said no correct information was available with labour department about labourers who take loan before migrating for work.

However, the State government had granted licence to 3,046 contractors to take out 1,18,451 labourers to other States. As many as 242 complaints were received from labourers who were to subjected torture at workplace.

Mr. Routray informed that 538 labourers were rescued from other States and brought back to Odisha. As many as 57 criminal cases had been filed in different courts.

However, activists term the figure underestimated as actual population that migrated from States like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat was far bigger. And the recent chopping off of palms of labourers by labour contractors in Nuapada district indicates that the crisis of distress migration was much deeper.

According to a study conducted way back in 2001, 1.44 lakh people from KBK districts migrate every year. “But our estimate shows, more than 50,000 families (around 2.5 lakh population) migrate from districts like Bolangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Bargarh, Sonepur and Sambalpur every year. These workers are treated like animals in workplace as they do not have access to shelter, health and education for children,” said Umi Daniel, head of Migration Information and Resource Centre (MiRC), Aide et Action South Asia here on Wednesday.

Similarly, Sudarshan Chhotray, an activist who studies migration patterns, says the State government was not at all serious about safety of lakhs of hapless workers who migrate to other States. “Administration has not done any proper survey on migrating workers in KBK districts. In fact, the labour department hardly makes effort to keep track of labourers migrating under dubious circumstances,” Mr. Chhotray said. A regular survey would have enabled the government to plan immediate intervention.

Mr. Daniel said the much hyped Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act had failed to prevent the migration as the scheme does not generate employment for labourers when they need it the most – during monsoon. Besides, the scheme had failed to generate 100 days of employment in backward districts.

THE HINDU | December 19, 2013 00:00 IST | Updated: December 20, 2013 05:50 IST

Palm Chopping Savage Crime, Says NHRC

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought a detailed report from the State Government on the chopping off of palms of two migrant labourers by middlemen in Kalahandi district on the night of December 15.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought a detailed report from the State Government on the chopping off of palms of two migrant labourers by middlemen in Kalahandi district on the night of December 15.

The commission has asked the Chief Secretary and the DGP to submit a report on the steps taken to identify and arrest the culprits along with medical attention provided to the victims, by January 2. It has also sought information on the compensation as well as the steps to be taken for rehabilitation of the victims.

The commission, while taking note of the incident, has termed it as most brutal and savage crime and said the authorities should spare no effort to bring the culprits to book.

The victims are among the most vulnerable sections of the society and will need immediate and continuing support from the Government, it noted.  The Government has been directed to inform the whereabouts and current status of the companions of the two victims, who had allegedly fled from the clutches of labour contractor, which led to the attack on the duo.  The commission also wanted to know if the contractor, who was taking the workers from the State, had the required licences and permissions under the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act.

Meanwhile, the failure of the Government in rehabilitating migrant labourers, who were rescued from different States, has drawn attention of the NHRC.

NHRC Joint Commissioner A K Parashar has taken note of the matter raised by Aide et Action, South Asia, and treated it as a complaint. Aide et Action regional head, migration, Umi Daniel, submitted that as many as 494 migrant bonded labourers had been rescued from the clutches of employers outside the State at different times, but are yet to be provided with rehabilitation assistance under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. As per the Act, bonded labourers are entitled to Government assistance of `20,000 for rehabilitation. According to the complaint, as many as 196 migrant bonded labourers from Balangir district were not paid rehabilitation assistance followed by 184 from Bargarh, 102 from Nuapada and 12 from Sambalpur districts.

Around 1,139 labourers had been rescued from different States.

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