First relief package shows no intent of securing lives: Captain

The CM said immediate intervention in the unorganised labour sector should have been a priority

Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday expressed his disappointment over the first tranche of the fiscal relief announced by Union finance minister Niramala Sitharaman and said immediate intervention in the unorganised labour sector should have been a priority.

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“It was unfortunate that the Union finance minister had not deemed it fit to balance the needs of MSMEs, NBFCs and the housing sector with urgent requirements of lakhs of migrant labourers facing unprecedented problems due to the current crisis,” the CM said.

Citing Prime Minister Modi’s emphasis on securing ‘jaan’ with ‘jahan’, Captain said the first set of announcements showed no intent at protecting lives.

“MSMEs, housing sector, etc have to survive first, and then take the leap to revival stage. And how will they survive without workers who have left in hordes?” questioned the CM, urging the Centre to take note of the woes of labourers, especially in the unorganised sector.

The CM said on the face of it, MSMEs have not received a bail-out package from the Union finance minister. Instead, they were being offered loans, which will only end up plunging them into a deeper debt crisis.

Pointing out that Punjab had 2.52 lakh industries, of which only 1,000 are large-scale, the CM said given the magnitude of the problem, Centre will need to come out with a huge package for the MSMEs to resume operations. Labourers will return only when MSMEs start operations, he added.

The CM hoped that the next set of announcements from the Union finance minister will see some concrete announcements for the unorganised labour sector, in particular, and address unemployment crisis in country.