The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court sought response from the State government on a petition filed seeking a direction to the government to pay interim relief amount to the bonded labourers from Chhattisgarh who were rescued in 2020 from a paper mill in Sivakasi, Virudhunagar district.
A Division Bench of Justices Paresh Upadhyay and R. Vijayakumar ordered notice to the State government and adjourned the hearing in the case till April 18. The court was hearing the petition filed by activist Arokiasamy Britto of Palayamkottai.
The petitioner said that 33 bonded labourers (22 male, 9 female and 2 children) were rescued from the Sripathi Paper and Boards in Sivakasi, Virudhunagar district. He said that the 33 rescued people were sent back to their home State Chhattisgarh without the release certificate and the interim relief amount.
He said that the release certificate and the interim relief amount of ₹ 20,000 each should be paid to the rescued bonded labourers in accordance with the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 and the Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers, 2016. The labourers were rescued during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The petitioner said that the employer of the labourers had to pay back wages to the recused labourers. A representation was sent in this regard to the authorities concerned. But, no action was taken so far. Therefore, the petition was filed seeking a direction to the authorities to take necessary steps to issue the release certificate and the interim relief amount to the rescued labourers, he said.
