The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976

The Parliament enacted The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, to end the practice of bonded labour across the country and free people from various kinds of bonded labour. The law also sought to prevent the physical and economic exploitation of the marginalised.Offences punishable under the Act include enforcing bonded labour, advancing bonded debt, extracting bonded labour, and not restoring property to freed bonded labourers. The Act also highlights the need to rehabilitate bonded labourers and ensure that they are not pushed into such labour again.The role of state authorities and district-level vigilance committees is crucial in implementing  the law and in monitoring the situation on the ground. The Act says that people belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes must be appointed to these district-level vigilance committees.