The Centre on Sunday said that migrant workers -- many of whom are in relief camps across the country due to the Covid-19 lockdown -- will be allowed to work in the states they are currently in, and directed local administrations to help provide them transport while ensuring social distancing measures are followed.
In a notification, Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla underlined there will be no interstate movement of workers during the lockdown.
The Centre on Wednesday allowed activities such as the conditional reopening of industries in rural areas outside the so-called Covid-19 containment zones from Monday to restart the economy as the lockdown was extended until May 3. The flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) will also restart with a focus on irrigation and water conservation works.
The decision is expected to bring relief to the stranded workers, tens of thousands of whom were forced to leave for their towns and villages on foot last month as the lockdown left them jobless. Some were transported back to their homes by the government, and many were housed in relief and shelter camps. Workers have taken to the streets in different places across the country and demanded that they be sent back to their states.
The Union home ministry’s order on Sunday said that workers in state-run and relief and shelter camps can be employed in the activities allowed from Monday. “Since additional activities, outside the containment zones, have been permitted in the consolidated revised guidelines with effect from April 20 (Monday), these workers could be engaged in industrial, manufacturing, construction, farming and MNREGA works,” the order said while underlining the ban on the interstate movement.
{{/usCountry}}The Union home ministry’s order on Sunday said that workers in state-run and relief and shelter camps can be employed in the activities allowed from Monday. “Since additional activities, outside the containment zones, have been permitted in the consolidated revised guidelines with effect from April 20 (Monday), these workers could be engaged in industrial, manufacturing, construction, farming and MNREGA works,” the order said while underlining the ban on the interstate movement.
{{/usCountry}}The order said states and Union Territories will be responsible for providing transport to the workers wishing to return to their places of work, but they have to be screened for Covid-19 symptoms. It added local authorities will have to ensure the workers are registered and their skills are mapped to employ them suitably.
The buses to be used for transportation should be sanitised and social distancing measures must be followed, the order said. The local authorities will also have to provide food and water to the workers when they travel to work, according to the Standard Operating Procedure listed by the ministry.
The mass movement of the migrant workers last month prompted the Centre to order states to seal their borders as it could undermine the impact of the restrictions aimed at slowing down the spread of the disease.
The Centre informed the Supreme Court this month that there were over a million migrant labourers in relief camps across the country.
Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday reviewed the second phase of the lockdown. He said while some economic activities have been permitted, due caution has to be exercised to ensure that only genuine relaxations are given.