80 i RIGHTS OF THE VULNERABLE Workshop on Bonded Labour 8,10 To clarify certain definitional aspects of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and to sensitise District Magistrates in respect of the Act, a one-day workshop was organised in Ranchi on 21 July, 2001 in collaboration with the Labour Department of Government of Jharkhand. The Chairperson of the Commission personally inaugurated the workshop, which was attended by the Chief Secretary, Labour Secretary, Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners of all the districts of Jharkhand. The Minister for Labour, Employment and Ifaining presided over the inaugural fiinction. The workshop resulted in the formulation of an action plan for the effective implementation of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act and the processing of pending cases relating to the rehabilitation of released labourers in Jharkhand. The Commission is monitoring the execution of the action plan. 8_11 A similar workshop was organised in Chandigarh on 22 September 2001 by the Government of Haryana under the directions of the Commission. Member Dr Justice K. Ramaswamy, Special Rapporteur Shri Chaman Lai and OSD (Research) ShriY.S.R. Murthy represented the NHRC in this workshop. The workshop was attended by the Chief Secretary, the Labour Secretary, the Divisional Commissioners of Gurgaon, Rohtak, Hisar and Ambala and the Deputy Commissioners of Ambala, Yamuna Nagar, Kamal, Jind, Hissar, Bhiwani, Sonepat, Mohindergarh, Rewari, Sirsa, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Panipat, Jhajhar, Panchkula, Faridabad and Gurgaon. A number of doubts and misgivings expressed by the district officials regarding enforcement of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act were removed. Expert Group on Bonded Labour 8.12 On 29 September 2000, the Commission had constituted an Expert Group to prepare a report on the present status of the implementation of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, assess the effectiveness of the existing mechanism and schemes of rehabilitation, and make recommendations for the effective involvement of the Commission in the matter as mandated by the Supreme Court. The Group headed by Shri S.R. Sankaran, IAS (Retd.), former Secretary, Rural Development, Government of India, submitted its report to the Commission on 31 May 2001. The report of the Group, recommending a number of changes in the law and an action plan for the Commission, is under consideration. The Group also recommended that the accountability of District Magistrate and others vested with statutory powers NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION