migrant workers stranded

Activists Puncture Govt’s Claims on Steps It Took to Combat Migrant Workers’ Crisis

Experts say the Centre’s claims in rebuttal to the recent Freedom House report on the state of democracy in India belie ground reality.

New Delhi: In its rebuttal to the Freedom House report titled ‘Democracy Under Siege’ in which it has been claimed that India’s status as a free country has declined to “partly free”, the Centre has claimed that it was “misleading, incorrect and misplaced“. The Indian government then proceeded to spell out what it did for migrant workers and towards enhancing food security during the pandemic.

However, food rights campaigners and labour rights activists disagree with much of what the government has claimed.

Centre spells out ‘various measures’ it took

In its arguments against the contents of the report, the Centre said, on the specific issue of “government response to COVID-19 through lockdown’, that it took “various measures to address the situation”. In these, it referred to at least five points that covered migrant workers who faced immense hardship in taking the journey home as their workplaces shut down and public transport was brought to a grinding halt without any prior warning.

The Centre’s response said, “Government of India allowed state governments to utilise State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for purpose of providing food, healthcare, shelter to homeless persons and migrant workers” and that “the government allowed the engagement of migrant workers in various activities outside containment zones which would allow them a livelihood”.

Also read: ‘Misleading, Incorrect, Misplaced’: Centre Reacts to India’s Downgrading in Think Tank Report

‘Policy changes did not translate into action on ground’

However, people working with migrant workers said this was not precise the case. Talking to The Wire, Sudhir Katiyar of Prayas Centre for Labour Research and Action said while the use of SDRF funds was allowed, it did not make a huge impact on the ground. “We recently organised an event in Ahmedabad on the issue of shelter for migrant workers. They allowed public rental during Covid and it was a major policy change but it has had no real impact so far,” he said.

Katiyar said his group also did a sit-in protest there demanding that the government release the existing housing stock for the migrant workers who were stranded in Ahmedabad and other cities. However, the guidelines for the policies were so tough that hardly anyone could benefit from them.

‘Migrant workers had no information of schemes, did not know how to return’

On the migrant workers being allowed to work outside containment zones, he said, in April-May they allowed workers to be employed within the states. But this was done to revive the units. However, most of the workers had by then proceeded to their native places. Many of them did not know about these measures and continued to walk towards their villages or town. Others did not have means to return to work as public transport was not operational.

As for the other claims of the Centre that it “announced a relief package of Rs 1.7 lakh crore which also covered migrant workers” and that it “launched a mission to boost employment and livelihood opportunities for migrant workers returning to their villages”, Katiyar said food packets were distributed to some workers who returned to their villages.

Also read: A Long Look at Exactly Why and How India Failed Its Migrant Workers

But, again, he said, the schemes did not succeed enough as “the migrant workers were not documented with them, they had no information on migrant workers and did not know how to reach out to them”.

On the other hand, he said, the migrant workers were also in a highly vulnerable state and did not know where to go and who to ask for assistance. “So in some big cities, they were provided food, but the problem pertaining to food persisted for them elsewhere.”

Also, he said, there was a major problem of rations not being distributed properly. “That again was an area where there was a lot of mismanagement.”

Stranded migrants arrive at Danapur railway station from Kerala amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis, in Patna, May 4, 2020. Photo: PTI

‘Return of workers indicates absence of employment in villages’

As for generation of employment in villages, he said, the main scheme for employment is MNREGA. “Had that scheme been successful, most of the people would not have returned to the cities. NREGA is the biggest scheme under which employment is granted. But it too is in a very messy state.”

On the Centre saying that under MNREGA the daily wages were “enhanced” and these “also covered returning migrant workers”, Katiyar said under the scheme the biggest problem is of delayed wages. “In times of COVID people would have needed payment on regular basis. But if you are making the payment after six months, it would not serve any purpose and then who will work under the scheme. The mismanagement of the scheme is a major reason which migration is there.”

Some packages and relief were provided in states like Jharkhand in the form of food packets, etc, but when it came to employment, there was no major impact, he added. Stating that about 80-90% people have returned to the big cities, he said many of them were now finding it hard to get work.

‘Food scheme came too late, millions were in distress by then’

As for the Centre’s claim in the rebuttal that “approximately 80 crore beneficiaries were provided 5kg wheat or rice, 1 kg pulses free of cost every month till November 2020 under the National Food Security Act (NFSA)”, food rights campaigner Anjali Bhardwaj of Satark Nagrik Sangathan said the government did announce the scheme but it came too late.

Also read: Deserted, Demeaned and Distressed: The Lot of Migrant Workers in the Delhi-Haryana Region

“Before imposing a hard lockdown like that what was important was that the government should have held consultations and discussions with state governments and experts and made sure that at least the basic needs of people – food and shelter – were taken care of before the lockdown was imposed. If their wages were protected and they could have stayed where they were before the lockdown, the distress would have been less,” she said.

‘Images of workers walking back symbolised lack of planning, implementation’

But, Bhardwaj charged that despite the pandemic starting internationally in January, adequate consultations were not held before the lockdown was imposed. “So what happened was that millions of families went into total distress and they lost any place to live, as they could not pay their rent and were rendered homeless, and they found it impossible to feed themselves and their families. This is why we saw the migrant workers walking back homes the way they did. Those pictures in a way symbolised the lockdown in India. That distress has to be seen as a failure of planning and implementation that was required,” she said.

In India, where nearly 90% people working in the unorganised sector, she said, it was essential for the government to realise that due to the pandemic many people would either lose their jobs and that the migrant workers and daily wagers would have no wages at all when the won’t be able to go out to work. “For people already living in poverty or on the brink, they do not have savings to both keep paying their rent and to afford two square meals for their families. So it was essential to protect their wages. But that did not happen.”

SC: Centre Refuses to Disclose Details of Train Fares Charged From Migrant Workers

The government’s secrecy around the issue assumes significance amidst a political row between the opposition parties and the Centre.

New Delhi: In what appears to be a confirmation of the fact that the Centre was indeed making the home bound migrant labourers pay for their train journeys, the government on May 5 declined to share details of the ticket fares with the Supreme Court.

During a hearing of social activist Jagdeep S. Chhokar’s public interest litigation which sought immediate help for thousands of migrant workers making their way home, solicitor general Tushar Mehta said that he wasn’t given any “instructions” to divulge details about the ticket fare, and whether the same was charged directly from the migrant workers. He also did not reveal details about the Centre’s share of cost in the evacuation process of workers.

According to The Telegraph, when Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul asked Mehta if the Centre was actually “funding” 85% of the fare, the solicitor general declined to reveal any information. “I have not received instructions… in the entire country several trains, buses, depending upon their logistics, have been put into service,” Mehta said.

The government’s secrecy around the issue at the apex court assumes significance amidst a political row between the opposition parties and the Centre. The visuals of desperate migrant workers walking hundreds of kilometres to reach their homes have been ubiquitous on mainstream and social media, ever since the nationwide lockdown was imposed. The Centre has been in the line of attack for not pre-empting such a stark situation before imposing the lockdown. With no income or proper shelter, most migrants had no option but to violate the lockdown to try and reach their native homes.

The Narendra Modi government eventually agreed to run special trains to ferry the workers home, but was soon shamed for charging higher-than-usual fares from the workers. The Centre soon defended itself when the Union health ministry’s joint secretary Lav Agarwal claimed that the Centre was bearing 85% of the ticket cost and attempted to mislead people into thinking that workers were not charged.

Also Read: Fact Check: No, the Centre Isn’t Paying for Migrant Workers’ Train Journeys Home

However, it soon became evident that Agarwal was talking about 85% as a notional subsidy extended to special trains, and that the Centre was not paying anything upfront to subsidise the travel directly. The ground reality was that the workers were being asked to pay for their tickets, which also included an additional ‘corona surcharge’ of Rs 50. As a result, the tickets cost more, with workers paying anywhere up to Rs 800 for availing of the train facility. Several states came forward to pay for the tickets thereafter, but not before the Centre faced ignominy.

Since then, the Centre has been tight-lipped on the issue.

Appearing for Chhokar, advocate Prashant Bhusan raised the issue that the Centre’s conflicting claims had further aggravated the pitiable situation of the migrants who are looking to go home in the days to come.

Supreme Court of India. Photo: PTI

Even if the Centre is bearing 85% of the expense of the travel, Bhushan said the remaining 15% would be too high a cost for the migrants. He urged the court to instruct the Indian Railways to bear that cost also and to make travel on special trains free.

At this, the bench, comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Bhushan Gavai observed, “Mr Tushar Mehta, learned solicitor-general, has submitted that with regard to ticket fare the appropriate steps have to be taken by the railways and by the concerned state government. At this moment, no such statement can be made as to what amount is being taken from the migrant workers. He further submitted that the Union of India with the consultation of state government(s) and the railways are taking all necessary steps for movement of the migrant workers who are stranded..,”

The bench then went on to dispose of the petition, noting that the Union government has already fulfilled the main prayer for arranging transportation for the migrants by running “Shramik Special” trains. It added that it could not get into the subject of whether the migrants were paying for their tickets or not.

“Necessary modalities for such transportation have to be implemented by the concerned states/Union Territories in collaboration with the railways. Insofar as charging of 15 percent of railway tickets’ amount from workers, it is not for this Court to issue any order under Article 32 (enforcement of fundamental rights) regarding the same, it is the concerned state/railways to take necessary steps under the relevant guidelines,” the bench said.

The court also asked all the states and Union Territories to designate nodal authorities and enforce the Union home ministry’s protocols for the movement of the migrants.

“Certain other difficulties have been pointed by Shri Prashant Bhushan with regard to stranded migrant workers…. The substantial relief in the writ petition having been fulfilled we cannot expand the scope of the writ petition to consider other issues sought to be raised by the learned counsel for the petitioners…. Taking note of the statement made by Shri Tushar Mehta, learned Solicitor General, and for the reasons as above the writ petition is closed,” Justice Ashok Bhushan said in a written order.

Chief Labour Commissioner’s Office Has No Data on Stranded Migrant Workers, RTI Reveals

The move comes despite a circular on April 8 asking regional heads to collect data about every stranded migrant worker in every district and state.

The lockdown imposed by governments since March 25, 2020, to contain the spread of COVID-19 epidemic across India, now in its third phase, has hit migrant workers, among others, the hardest. Not a day goes by without stories of their travails being highlighted in the print, electronic, digital and social media.

What is the magnitude of migrant workers under distress due to the lockdown? Is it four million, or forty million or much more? The office of the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) under the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment claims, it does not have state-wise and district-wise data despite the CLC directing the regional heads based in 20 centres across the country to enumerate every migrant worker stranded due to the lockdown within three days during the second week of April, 2020.

The problem leading to the RTI intervention

Hundreds of thousands of men, women and their children who had migrated out of their home states to other cities, towns and villages in search of gainful employment, suddenly found themselves jobless and penniless as the economy came to a grinding halt due to the lockdown. With inter-state borders sealed during the first two phases of the lockdown, they had few options for keeping body and soul together and the coronavirus at bay. They were forced into government-run relief camps or shelters or compelled to remain at the worksites of their employers or simply remain bundled up in clusters near highways and other open spaces.

Reports of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers protesting their forcible incarceration and demanding they be allowed to return to their hometowns have come from Kerala, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Surat, Mumbai and other places. Some tried to find their way back home travelling inside water and milk tankers and concrete putty mixers paying hefty sums of money to owners who sought to profit from their suffering. Even more heartbreaking are stories of migrant workers, walking alone or in groups, hundreds to thousands of kilometres under the blazing sun to get back to their families and some perishing within reach of their homes. Meanwhile, many of us saluted other frontline workers combatting the virus with sound and light shows, flypasts and fireworks on the seas.

Also read: The Lockdown is a Dangerous Experiment, India’s Democracy Will Not Emerge Unscathed

Amidst this humanitarian crisis of gargantuan proportions, on April 8, 2020, the office of the chief labour commissioner issued a circular to his regional heads based in 20 centres across the country to collect data about every stranded migrant worker in every district and state. Templates were issued for data capture during the enumeration process. Both blue and white collared workers were to be enumerated in this manner. The regional heads were given three days to collect this data and send it to the CLC.

After waiting in vain for almost two weeks for the official announcement of the results of the enumeration exercise, on April 21, 2020, I submitted an RTI application with the office of the CLC through the RTI Online Facility, seeking the following information under the RTI Act:

“Apropos the D.O. dated 08 April, 2020 issued by the Chief Labour Commissioner to all Regional Heads regarding urgent collection of data about migrant workers who are stranded and placed in various temporary shelters/relief camps arranged by:

a) the State Government authorities,

b) employers IN-SITU/at workplace itself, and

c) where they are generally clustered in some localities:-

I am seeking access to the following information available in your office, as on date, under the RTI Act, 2005:

1) the State-wise names of districts from which data about the stranded migrant workers has been received,

2) the district-wise numbers of male and female migrant workers belonging to each of the three categories mentioned above as reported from each State,

3) the occupation-wise number of male and female migrant workers reported from each State as per the List of Occupations mentioned in Annexure-I of the said D.O.,

4) the Sector-wise number of male and female migrant workers reported from each State as per the List of Sectors mentioned in Annexure-II of the said D.O., and

5) the Native State-wise cumulative figures for male and female migrant workers according to each Occupation and Sector mentioned in Annexure-I and Annexure-II, respectively of the said D.O., reported from each State.”

Being aware of the possibility that the CLC’s office would not be fully functional, I did not seek copies of official records. Instead, I requested the CLC’s office to upload all the information described in my RTI application and inform me the URL of the database on the official website. Given the widespread debate about the plight of migrant workers and the yeomen service provided by several government agencies, hundreds of NGOs and thousands concerned citizens to ensure that many of them were served food, water and other essentials, this information I believed has an enormous public interest dimension attached to it.

Also read: Migrant Workers in Punjab Continue Long Walk Home, Ask for Government Support

The CPIO’s reply

On May 5, 2020, a day after the third phase of the lockdown began, the RTI online facility sent me an automated email stating that my RTI application had been disposed of. When I checked the status of my RTI application on the website, instead of a proper response under his name and signature, the CPIO has entered the following reply:

“As per the stat section is concerned, no such details are available based on requisite information.”

There was no indication whether my RTI application would be transferred to any other section or public authority, or if any effort would be made to collate the information from the enumeration exercise and make it publicly available.

Migrant workers walk towards a bus station along a highway with their families as they return to their villages, during a 21-day nationwide lockdown to limit the spreading of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of New Delhi, March 29, 2020. Photo: Reuters/Adnan Abidi

What is wrong with the CPIO’s reply?

Under the RTI Act the CPIO has only three options available while dealing with an RTI application:

if the information sought is not available with one’s public authority, it must be transferred to another public authority which may have custody of such information; or
supply the information after collecting copying charges (which would not apply in my case as I did not ask for copies, but requested proactive disclosure on the website); or
reject the RTI application if it is covered by one or more of the exemptions provided in Sections 8, 9 or 24.

The CLC’s CPIO resorted to none of these actions. He did not even send a signed reply. Most other CPIOs upload a scanned copy of their reply on the RTI online facility in addition to emailing it to the RTI applicant under their name and signature. So the CLC CPIO’s cryptic one-liner reply raises serious doubts about the availability of data about migrant workers despite the launching of the enumeration exercise. Does the CLC or any other public authority in government have accurate data about the number of stranded migrant workers or is there any reason why it does not want to make such information public?

I have already filed a complaint before the central information commission in this case requesting an early hearing. if this case is put at the end of the queue of nearly 36,000 cases currently pending before the CIC the matter may come up for hearing in 2021 when the information would be devoid of any value. As it is the enumeration figures are becoming irrelevant with the public authorities making arrangements to return migrant workers to their states of domicile by road or rail transport.

RTI activists suggest measures for more transparent and accountable implementation of the COVID relief package

Two days after the CLC issued its circular seeking enumeration of migrant workers, CHRI organised a webinar of RTI activists and advocates of transparency to take stock of the effect of the lockdown on people in general and the vulnerable and disadvantaged communities in particular.

Participants from across 12 states and UTs came identified several problems with the manner of implementation of the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana Relief Package. They also identified some practical solutions for relieving hardships people have faced due to the lockdown.

These suggestions continue to have relevance for most parts of the country during lockdown 3.0:

1) RBI must issue a circular for hassle-free reactivation of the inoperative PMJDY bank accounts (23% of the total) particularly, for beneficiaries eligible for ex gratia at their doorstep through post office employees and turning fixed location Banking Correspondents into itinerant Bank Mitras for the period of ex-gratia distribution. They may be directed to strictly adhere to COVID-19 related precautionary measures while moving about;

2) The government of India must issue circular clarifying how the free gas cylinders benefit may be availed by beneficiaries. Itinerant Bank Mitras may be roped in to disburse DBT benefit to beneficiaries at their doorstep, with due regard to COVID-19 related precautionary measures;

3) Oil marketing companies must issue strict instructions to their supplier agencies to deliver gas cylinders at the doorstep upon receiving bookings, with due regard to COVID-19 related precautionary measures;

4) District administration must be directed to make PDS supply and distribution related information available to beneficiaries on a weekly basis through the various methods of dissemination mentioned under the “Explanation” to Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005 (disclosure through internet, radio, TV, newspapers, notice boards, other kinds of announcements using public address system and beat of drums etc.) Doordarshan’s country-wide outreach must be used for disseminating information about the manner and status of implementation of the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana package;

Also read: Understanding the Implications of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Migrant Workers’ Children

5) Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) must issue advisories to all State Governments to urge the respective State Information Commissions to restart work along the modalities adopted by the Central Information Commission;

6) DoPT must issue advisories to the state governments to urge the respective Lokayuktas and Anti-Corruption Bureaus to restart accepting and inquiring into complaints of corruption from the general public. A toll-free helpline may be established in every State to receive and forward complaints of corruption from the public to the respective anti-corruption bodies. These numbers must be advertised widely;

7) The Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2014 must be enforced immediately across all states by notifying competent authorities to receive and inquire into complaints of attacks and harassment of whistleblowers. The state police must be issued advisories to lodge FIRs in all such cases of attacks without delay and conduct speedy investigations to book the culprits;

8) Empowered groups of officers must be set up at the state, district and sub-district level to coordinate relief and rehabilitation efforts to between the public sector and private sector players;

9) Government agencies must not insist on production of identity proof for migrant workers for accessing benefits under the relief and rehabilitation measures. Mere self-declaration of identity and domicile status should be treated as adequate for accessing such benefits. Circulars may be issued to all State and district level authorities for this purpose;

10) Lockdown passes must be issued on a priority basis to caregivers for PwDs to provide services to them on a daily basis. Audio-visual training modules must be developed and disseminated for them to explain the social distancing and other precautionary measures to ensure that PwDs do not contract the coronavirus. All telecasts of important speeches including that of the Hon’ble PM and daily press conferences that are televised must be accompanied in real time by sign language interpretation visible adequately on the TV screens;

11) Alternative arrangements must be made for ensuring that people living in areas without mobile phones or internet connectivity are able to access their entitlements under the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana without any delay;

12) Households in remote hamlets and settlements not covered by PM Ujjwala Yojana must be supplied with adequate fuel sources including firewood for daily use at their doorstep. Officials of the concerned departments including the forest department may be engaged to supply fuel to such households at least twice a week at their doorstep with due regard to COVID-19 related precautionary measures

13) There is an urgent need to reactivate lower courts in order to provide justice delivery services to the people. The statutory Legal Services Authorities at the national, state, district and tehsil levels must also be reactivated. Their contact numbers, as well as those of lawyers, empanelled to provide legal aid must be widely advertised through various mass media and other offline methods so that people may contact them for getting redress for their grievances against the administration’s actions and omissions; and

14) Governments must increase budgetary allocation for the health and education sectors. Increasing public spending on the welfare of women, children and vulnerable groups like migrant workers must become a priority.

Whether the governments will pay attention to these practical suggestions coming from the grassroots level, remains to be seen.

Venkatesh Nayak is programme head of the Access to Information Programme of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.