NHRC to hear 86 cases of alleged bonded labour in Haryana brick kilns

📌 Summary:

• The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will hold an online hearing on 9 July 2026 to address 86 cases of alleged bonded labour in brick kilns across Haryana districts
• Hearing chaired by NHRC Chairperson Justice V. Ramasubramanian; State Chief Secretary/nominee, Labour Commissioner and District Magistrates directed to attend
• Focus: action taken by DMs, identification and release of bonded labourers, and their registration on the e-Shram portal (central platform for unorganised workers)
• Review of compliance with the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 and Supreme Court orders in the Bandhua Mukti Morcha and Asiad Workers cases
• Also reviews rehabilitation packages (financial aid, skill training, alternate livelihoods) and measures to prevent recurrence
• SC assigned monitoring of the Act's compliance to NHRC on 11 May 1997

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 Polity/Statutory Bodies and Social Justice — NHRC's role in protecting vulnerable sections, enforcing the Bonded Labour Act, and implementing landmark Supreme Court judgments.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• NHRC is a statutory body under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993; current Chairperson: Justice V. Ramasubramanian
• Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act enacted in 1976
• Key SC cases: Bandhua Mukti Morcha and Asiad Workers; e-Shram is the portal for unorganised workers

🔑 Key Term: Bonded Labour — a form of forced labour where a person works to repay a debt under coercive conditions, abolished by the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.