A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court (SC), on Tuesday, gave a slew of directives to the Centre, the states, and Union Territories (UTs) to provide relief to migrant workers, whose lives and livelihoods have been severely affected by the pandemic. Calling the Centre’s attitude towards the migrants “lackadaisical,” SC directed it to ensure that the proposed national database for unorganised workers (NDUW) is operational by July 31 so that welfare benefits can flow to the marginalised sections. It also
A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court (SC), on Tuesday, gave a slew of directives to the Centre, the states, and Union Territories (UTs) to provide relief to migrant workers, whose lives and livelihoods have been severely affected by the pandemic. Calling the Centre’s attitude towards the migrants “lackadaisical,” SC directed it to ensure that the proposed national database for unorganised workers (NDUW) is operational by July 31 so that welfare benefits can flow to the marginalised sections. It also ordered states and UTs to implement the One Nation One Ration Card (ONOR) scheme by July 31 to help beneficiaries, especially migrant workers, avail of subsidised food commodities anywhere, irrespective of their home location.
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The SC’s order can have far-reaching impact if appropriately implemented. It is also a reminder to the State that welfare of migrants must not be restricted to pandemic-related benefits; and that the failure to put in place a policy framework exacerbated the crisis of 2020. The directives also expose India’s low state capacity in providing effective interventions. For example, NDUW was supposed to be functional in 2018. There has been some progress on ONOR over the past year, but issues of accessibility need to be addressed. It is a smartphone-based app, works in select ration shops, and uses finger-based authentication, which has proved to be unreliable in some cases.
Migrant workers form 94% (380 million) of India’s workforce. They come from the most disadvantaged sections of society and the poorest of the regions (primarily north and east India), and are often forced to migrate (primarily to west and south India and urban centres) to improve their socioeconomic status. Their long march home in 2020 highlighted their precarious existence, and the duty of the Indian State to provide relief. SC’s stern order is welcome.
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