New Delhi: Over one crore migrant workers returned to their native states after the nationwide lockdown was enforced in March to curb the spread of Covid-19, Union Minister of Labour and Employment Santosh Kumar Gangwar informed the Parliament Monday.
This was in response to a series of questions about the migrant workers exodus, which took place soon after the lockdown was announced on 24 March, posed to the labour ministry on the first day of the Parliament’s Monsoon session.
According to the ministry’s data, Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 32.4 lakh migrants returning home, followed by Bihar with 15 lakh migrant workers and Rajasthan with 13 lakh workers. This is the first such centralised data released by the government on migrant workers.
The ministry, however, maintained it had no data on the number of migrant workers who lost their lives during the 68-day lockdown period.
AIMIM leaders Asaduddin Owaisi and Syed Imitiaz Jaleel had sought information from the ministry on the number of labourers who migrated to their native homes due to job losses and how the government assisted the states to rehabilitate these migrant workers. The government was also asked if state-wise data was available.
Thousands of migrant workers undertook the journey back to their native states on foot, after they lost their sources of livelihood due to restrictions imposed by the government.
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Relief packages by govt
The central government highlighted the various steps that were taken to rehabilitate the migrant workers, including providing them with food packets and financial assistance.
In its reply, the government said they had announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore relief package to help the poor and the needy.
“In order to ensure relief measures not only for the poor people and migrant workers but also their families/dependents in a sustainable manner, the Central Government announced Rs 1.70 lakh crore relief package under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) for the poor people to help them fight the battle against coronavirus,” said Gangwar in his reply Monday.
The labour minister added that to provide employment to migrant workers at their native places the government also launched a number of schemes including ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan’ to boost employment and livelihood opportunities, ‘Anganwadi’ service, employment in food processing industries, Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme and scheme for regeneration of traditional industries or the ‘Gram Udyog Vikas Yojana’, among others.
“The government has also set up 30 Biotech–Kisan hubs in the country covering all agroclimatic zones, 150 districts, including 101 aspirational districts, which will help migrant workers to earn their livelihood through farming and expose them to the innovative methods of farming of high value crops,” said Gangwar.
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