The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has asked the State government to submit an action taken report with a week on the alleged chopping off palm and leg of a migrant labourer from Kalaba village of Gajapati district by the henchmen of the employer in Uttar Pradesh after he demanded wage.

The Commission in response to the petition filed by human rights lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy directed the Chief Secretary, Collector and Superintendent of police of Gajapati district to submit ATR within a week on the horrendous act of criminality and human rights violation, NCST ruled in an order on Wednesday.

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A labour contractor allegedly chopped off a palm and a leg of a migrant labourer when he demanded his wages. The labour contractor has further threatened to kill the victim and his family if they report the matter to police. The victim is Sanka Murmu, the petitioner Triptathy pointed out in the petition.

“The commission has decided to investigate into the matter in pursuance of power conferred under Article-338 (A) of Indian Constitution. You are therefore requested to submit the facts and information on the action taken on the allegation within seven days”, the order said.

“In case the commission does not receive reply within the stipulated time, the commission may exercise the power of civil court conferred on it and issue summons for personal appearance before the commission”, it added.

The poor migrant labourers, with no money and source of transport, are being forced to travel back to their native places with exploitation and untold miseries and quite often to go back to native places.

Such forced migration is a clear violation of the right to life and livelihood, also leading to an increasing number of accidents. The government is to be held responsible for not taking adequate measures to help them in their distress, Tripathy said.

The migrant labourers who worked on very low wages, most of the time less than minimum wages, without any record of their employment lose their sources of livelihood due to lack of proper implementation of labour laws and its inspection and follow up by the States and the Government of India

The States should collect the data of migrant workers at the point of departure in the originating State as well on arrival in the destination States.

The Government of India and the State Governments must ensure proper implementation of the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 so that the migrant workers are provided with a journey allowance, the petition noted.

“With abysmal lack of employment opportunities and absence of irrigation network for agrarian activities, people from these backward belts of the State migrate to neighbouring states in search of bread and butter. In the process, these defenceless people are ensnared in bondage labour system and fall prey to exploitative practices of tyrannical employers, said activist Umi Daniel. Every year, around one thousand cases of torture and exploitation of migrant Odia labourers are being reported. While the government puts the distress migration figure at 1.31 lakh, the actual figure could go up by ten-fold”, said labour rights activist Umi Daniel