Twenty thousand rupees may not be a princely sum, but even this compensation money has been elusive for bonded labourers from Odisha who were freed from a brick kiln in Rajanakunte police station limits at Yelahanka near here in 2010.
While activists have been saying that the compensation amount (which freed bonded labourers are entitled to under a Central scheme) should be enhanced to Rs. 1 lakh, red tape many times results in even this sum not reaching them on time.
International Justice Mission (IJM), the non-governmental organisation that was part of the rescue operation, has been trying to help 40 of the 59 labourers freed in 2010 as part of their “aftercare” programme, but there are hurdles at every step of the way. None of the 40 has got compensation so far, while all of them are all back in their villages in Bolangir district in Odisha and working as daily wage labourers.
“Our staff members are in touch with the Bolangir district rural development authorities who say that they submitted the necessary documents to the Union government in 2012. But no money has come so far,” said a representative of the IJM.
“We are still waiting for the money,” confirmed one of the workers this correspondent spoke to on the phone. The labourer, who did not wish to be named, said he was happy to be out of bondage and was trying to educate other people in the region not to fall for sardar s (middleman) who hire labourers after paying an advance, which keeps them bound to the employer.
“But some people still go because there are no jobs here,” he said. The wiser among them now enrol their names with the panchayat before leaving the village, so that there is a record of their whereabouts, he said.
