This paper assesses the legal framework of contract labour employment in India. It reviews role of the state in the enforcement of Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act 1970 (CLA) and relates it with the vulnerabilities contract labour suffers from. It also focuses on the changed attitude of the state agencies towards labour law enforcement. The formulations are built on secondary data and doctrinal reasoning to argue that there is a need for change in the framework of CLA so as to check rampant tendencies of the employers to indulge in contractualization. Contract labour is being employed even in core activities mainly with a view to lowering the costs through exploiting the weak bargaining power of workers. The paper cites the Andhra Pradesh amendment to the CLA to be used as a reference point for effecting changes in the framework.