By- Wali Laskar | Date- March 04, 2012
After
the Barak Human Rights Protection Committee (BHRPC) reported hunger
deaths in a tea garden in Assam, the state government has taken some
actions, though they are inadequate and some of them are even
misleading.
The BHRPC reported that
12 people died due to starvation, malnutrition and lack of medical care
in the Bhuvan Valley Tea Estate in Cachar district since the owners
closed down the estate on 8 October, 2011 and abandoned the labourers
without paying their wages, bonus, provident fund dues and other
benefits stipulated in the Plantation Labour Act, 1951. The government
welfare schemes including the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act,
2005 and Integrated Child Development Scheme as well as the Supreme
Court directives issued in the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
vs Union of India & Others or Writ Petition (Civil) 196 of 2001
which is also known as the right to food case not implemented properly.
The
actions that have been taken by the government include 1. making the
owners to reopen the garden on 9 February, 2012 after 4 months, 2.
making the owners to pay a part of the due wages/salary and bonus, 3. a
magisterial inquiry into the causes of some deaths, 4. making the owners
to increase the wages a little and 5. forming one man inquiry committee
to find out the factors that led to the deaths:
1. It is true that the garden has been reopened on 9 February at the instance of the district administration.
However, the owners have not yet appointed a permanent manager to run
the tea estate. No qualified and permanent doctor and nurse have been
appointed in the NRHM run garden hospital. There is also no electricity
and water available. There is only an ASHA, a pharmacist and a lab boy
in the hospital. Health conditions of 43 people are bad who have not yet
received any medical attention.
The
rationing of some staple food has also been started. However, according
to the labourers, both the quality and quantity of the food items
supplied are not up to the mark.
The factory is yet to be opened.
2. Only 50% of the outstanding wages has been paid and bonus for the year 2011 has been paid.
According information, bonus for the year 2010 and 2009 are still
outstanding along with remaining 50% of wages. Owners are yet to deposit
their part of provident fund. Since the labourers incurred debt during
the period of the closure after repayment of these debts they are not in
position to spend towards medical treatment.
The
labourers also told that since 2000 the owners have never constructed
and repaired any dwelling house of the labourers. We have seen them
living in dilapidated huts falling far below the requirements of the
adequate housing within the meaning of the right to adequate housing.
3. A magisterial inquiry into the causes of some deaths was conducted.
The inquiry concluded that these deaths have taken place due to causes
other than that of starvation. It appears that the methodology of the
inquiry has been asking a question and recording a reply without any
independent witness. The BHRPC is constraint to say that this method
does not stand much credibility.
It
also appears that there is a lack of clarity in the sense of the terms
starvation, malnutrition and death caused by them as used in the inquiry
report. The BHRPC has relied on the definitions of starvation and
malnutrition as given in the National Food Security Bill drafted by the
National Advisory Council. There are some guidelines for investigation
of starvation deaths prepared following relevant protocols of the World
Health Organisation and other UN bodies. One such protocol is prepared
by the Supreme Court Commissioners on the right to food. According to
these guidelines, the modes of death and causes of death as well as
various types of causes need to be separated to find out the actual
cause of death.
Circumstantial
evidences strongly suggest that underlying or contributory causes of all
the deaths are starvation and malnutrition. There is no other
explanation of the unusually high rate of death in this particular
garden in this particular period. It is as if there is a steady
continuous spell of death that even awaits the living.
More
over, it is reported that the government admitted that for last 20
years the garden was not running properly and the Plantation Labour Act,
1951 was not followed and this led to the abject poverty of the
labourers.
4. It is reported that a new wage structure for labourers of tea gardens of Barak valley was announced.
According to this structure, effective from 1 January, 2012, the wage
is fixed Rs 68 per day for one year. From 1 January, 2013, the daily
wage would be Rs 72 and from 1 January, 2014, it would be Rs 75 per day.
But the payment of the 50% outstanding wages that was made to the
labourers of the Bhuvan valley tea garden is at rate of Rs 50 per day,
instead of Rs 68. On the other hand, the labourers of the tea garden of
Brahmaputra Valley in Assam are paid Rs 75 and their counterparts in
Paschimbanga (West Bengal) are paid Rs 85 per day. This discrimination
has no reasonable basis and in violation of equality clause of the
Constitution of India as well as the norms of equal pay for equal works.
The wages of tea labourers of Assam should be same for the time being,
though the labourers are demanding Rs 100 per day at the minimum for a
long time.
5. A one man
inquiry committee of additional chief secretary Mr. P K Choudhury to
find out the factors that led to hunger deaths and fix the
responsibility. However, the Supreme Court of India has held
that the chief secretary of the state is responsible for every
starvation death that takes place in his state. An inquiry by a person
who is a part of the state administration to determine whether these
were starvation deaths or not falls within the prohibition of nemo debet esse judex in propia causa—no one should be judge in his own cause and this is a universally recognized rule of natural justice.
More over, right to truth and justice is a collective right of the people. Therefore, they must appear to have been rendered.
In
view of the above and the assurance of the Chief Minister that he will
spare no effort to ensure protection of human rights of every citizen
and prevention of starvation deaths, the BHRPC is very hopeful and with
lots of hope it suggests that:
A.
The authorities should provide urgent relief to the tea workers in
terms of food supply and medical treatment to prevent further deaths and
deterioration of health conditions of sick workers and their
dependents.
B. The
authorities should conduct a prompt, impartial and objective inquiry
into the situation of the garden to fix responsibility for the deaths
and the conditions that led to this situation including corruption in
implementation of government welfare schemes and non-adherence to the
provisions of the Plantation Labour Act and other laws applicable in the
estate management by an independent commission of inquiry headed by a
sitting or retired judge of a high court or the supreme court and
comprising of, among others, medical experts, nutrition experts, labour
rights and human rights experts.
C.
The officials or other persons who would be found negligent and
derelict in their legal duties and responsibilities that directly
contributed to the developing of the situation that led to the deaths
should be prosecuted according to law.
D. The kin and the dependent of the deceased person should be provided with adequate reparation so far money can provide.
E.
The authorities should ensure that all outstanding dues of the
labourers are paid immediately and the wages of the all tea labourers of
Assam made equal for the time being and that the tea gardens are run
according to the laws providing all rights and benefits to the labourers
under the laws.
In sum, the BHRPC
would also like to see assumption of some moral responsibility for these
calamitious circumstances of death under conditions of hunger and
malnutrition, instead of a mere legalistic standpoint. We expect that
the Govt. at the state and the Centre should speak the truth and does
not issue mere denials in a circumlocutory fashion. In this situation of
famished deaths, ought is more important than is.
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