Bonded Labour System [Abolition] Act, 1976
This Act provides for identification, release and rehabilitation of bounded labour. This act constitutes a part of the Government of India's 20-point programmer.
At present, as par the decision taken in the Meeting of the Secretaries, Home, Revenue and Forests Department and Industries, Energy and Labour Department by the then Chief Secretary, Maharashtra on 30th June 1981, the work of identification of bonded labour
has been entrusted to the Labour Department, while the work relating to relief and rehabilitation of freed bonded labour has been assigned to the Revenue and Forests Department. This arrangement result in bottle-neck in the work of the Act, for want of proper
co-ordination between the two Departments recently, the thinking in this behalf in the Government of India is that the entire work connected with the implementation of this Act should rest in one Department only. This itself casts the responsibility of enforcement
of the Act on the District Magistrates, who are under the control be most appropriate if the present arrangement of handling the work of identification of bonded labour which is presently with the Labour Department and that of the work of rehabilitation of
the freed bonded labour, which id currently with the Revenue and Forests Department should be changed and the entire work of this Act is entrusted to the Revenue and Forests Department. This is for the approval of Government.