Coronavirus update: Centre asks states, UTs to tap SDRF to aid migrant workers | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Coronavirus update: Centre asks states, UTs to tap SDRF to aid migrant workers

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By
Mar 29, 2020 05:33 AM IST

Covid-19 update: Home minister Amit Shah said the “government has committed all support to migrant workers” who are returning to their states or trying to do so during the lockdown period.

The Centre on Saturday asked the states and Union territories to provide every possible support to migrant workers, authorising them to tap the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to pay for temporary accommodation, food, clothing and medical care during the three-week lockdown to halt the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Migrant workers in Gururgram head home on day 4 of the 21-day nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.(Yogendra Kumar/HT PHOTO)
Migrant workers in Gururgram head home on day 4 of the 21-day nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.(Yogendra Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Migrant workers in the big cities, many of them daily.wage earners who have lost work and means of sustenance, have been among the hardest hit by the lockdown, which has forced thousands of them to march back home in the absence of public transport

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The SDRF was constituted under the National Disaster Management Act (NDMA) in 2005 and is the primary source of funds available to state governments to combat the aftermath of disasters like cyclones, droughts, earthquakes, floods and other natural calamities The Centre contributes 75% to the SDRF for general category states and Union territories and 90% for those that come under a special category--the North-Eastern states, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. The annual central contribution is released in two equal instalments.

In its directive, the Centre said the SDRF can be used under Section 3 (a), related to relief measures listed under it and the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). The section provides for relief in case of a calamity for 30 days. In case of the continuation of a calamity, this period may be extended first up to 60, and later to 90 days. Subsequently, medical care can be provided from the National Rural Health Mission funds, the Centre said.

For 2019-20, the Centre has released around Rs 10,343 crore to 29 states as SDRF, according to official data. Around Rs 14,108 crore has been given to eight states, including Rajasthan, Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, under the NDRF.

A Press Information Bureau statement said the states have been advised to give wide publicity, using public address systems, technology, services of volunteers and non-government organizations, to precise information on the locations of relief camps set up for migrant workers and the facilities being made available there.

Home minister Amit Shah said the “government has committed all support to migrant workers” who are returning to their states or trying to do so during the lockdown period.

The states have been advised to set up relief camps along the highways and tented accommodation to ensure that the workers stay there until the lockdown is in place.

“The shelters are to be organised, keeping in view various precautions including social distancing, with adequate medical checkup drives to identify and separate cases requiring quarantine or hospitalisation,” the statement said.

Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari has separately instructed the National Highways Authority of India and toll booth operators to provide food, water and so on to migrant workers. “At this time of crisis, we have to be compassionate to our fellow citizens,” he said.

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