New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Centre to conduct a meeting of all states to develop a proposal to address the issue of inter-state trafficking of bonded labourers, including minors.
The matter came up before a bench comprising justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan. The apex court was informed that in Uttar Pradesh out of the 5,264 bonded labourers released, only 1,101 had received immediate financial assistance. The bench termed it an alarming situation and noted that the problem was in the disbursal of immediate financial assistance to the rescued children.
"We find that in order to address the issue of inter-state trafficking of children, the issue needs to be addressed by the union as well as all the states in a unified manner," the bench said.
The apex court directed the secretary, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, to hold a meeting with his counterparts in all the states and union territories to develop a proposal to address the issue.
The bench said the proposal should comprise a simplified procedure to assist the scheme of providing immediate financial assistance to the rescued child labourers, and the government should involve National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), while finalising the procedure. The bench also asked the Attorney General to assist it in the matter.
Emphasising on digitising the process, the bench suggested that there should be a portal akin to the one pertaining to missing children. "You have to find a unified procedure," observed the bench.
The apex court was hearing a plea seeking enforcement of the fundamental rights of people trafficked as bonded labourers. The bench has scheduled the matter for further hearing after six weeks. During a hearing in the matter in August this year, senior advocate H S Phoolka had said not even 10 per cent of such labourers were paid financial assistance or compensation.
