| Major In-Migration Streams |
Agriculture labour, brick kiln work, construction and stone carving
|
| Main Source Areas |
Kotda and Jhadol blocks of Udaipur and southern pockets of Dungarpur and Sirohi districts |
The Aajeevika Bureau's Idar centre is located in Sabarkantha district of North Gujarat. Idar is located in the heart of a prosperous region of Gujarat 
where thousands of tribal migrants reach from the bordering Rajasthan blocks for work as agriculture labour, construction and factory labour. These districts are rich in cotton, wheat and agro-processing industries (cotton ginning) and therefore the demand for cheap labour is high and consistent. Other smaller towns such as Palanpur, Ambaji, Unjha and Himmatnagar are also major centres for migrants from across the border.
Aajeevika Bureau’s work in Idar began in 2005 at the time when it began its centre in Kotra block of Udaipur district. Thousands of Kotra tribals come to this region to work as agriculture labour through the year. There is also a heavy inflow of child labour from Kotra during the Bt Cotton pollination season. Conditions of work are difficult and fraught with a lot of conflict and malpractices against the tribal workers. The Idar centre therefore has tended to focus on issues of exploitation of tribal labour in Gujarat. Its main function has been to provide first support to migrants who may be in a desperate situation because of under payment, wrong charges or physical exploitation. The Idar centre functions as a drop-in centre for migrant workers seeking a sympathetic hearing, support and intervention. The centre takes up cases and offers advise and intermediation between workers and their employers.
In order to bring more fairness to the arrangements between landowners and labour, the Idar centre has also been instrumental in facilitating a round of mediated placement through written contracts between migrant agriculture labourers and landowners. This is expected to be scaled up to larger numbers in the near future. The centre also carries out registration, counseling and training of migrant youth in this region.
Aajeevika Bureau works in partnership with Adivasi Vikas Manch and Astha Sansthan in Idar.
