Consent of receiving states no longer required
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These are issues that have to be decided by both states (receiving and sending), and the Centre.
nNEW DELHI: Consent of states where trains ferrying migrants terminate is not needed to run the special Shramik trains, the government said on Tuesday, reversing an earlier order that called for the mutual agreement of both sending and receiving states in order to transport stranded labourers to their hometowns.
The move came on the day the government issued a fresh standard operating procedure (SOP) for operating the services flagged off on May 1, announcing that the movement of these Shramik trains will be permitted by the railway ministry in consultation with the ministry of home affairs (MHA).
“Today (Tuesday), MHA has withdrawn the May 1 circular and issued a separate SOP for railways. Now, the implication is this that the consent of receiving state is not mandatory for running Shramik Special trains,” a railway ministry spokesperson said.
The move came against the backdrop of differences between the Centre and some states over the running of these trains. Railway minister Piyush Goyal said states such as West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, which have large migrant populations, are not approving enough trains — a charge dismissed by them.
In guidelines issued early May, the government said states sending and receiving migrant labourers “may consult each other and mutually agree to the movement”, while railways will run the services based on the requirement communicated by the state where the trains will originate.
On Tuesday, the fresh SOP by the home ministry asked all states and Union Territories to “designate nodal authorities and make necessary arrangements”.
“Movement of Shramik Special trains shall be permitted by ministry of railways in consultation with ministry of home
TAPAS ROY , West Bengal minster affairs… “The train schedule including stoppages and destination shall be finalized by the railway ministry based on requirements of states/uts and shall be communicated by railway ministry to the states/uts for making suitable arrangements for sending and receiving such stranded workers,” the SOP said.
Describing the Centre’s new proposal as “unfair”, West Bengal minster Tapas Roy said: “These are issues that have to be decided by both states (receiving and sending), and the Centre. It is unfair if the Centre decides on its own when and how it will send back the stranded migrant workers.” Shiv Dahariya, urban development and labour minister of Chhattisgarh, said his state never opposed Shramik Special trains. “The central government has always been apathetic towards the common man of the country,” he alleged.
Railway minister Goyal said that in the next two days, 400 Shramik Special trains will run every day. “All migrants are requested to stay where they are, the Indian Railways will get them back home over the next few days,” he added.
At present, to run a Shramik Special train after agreement by both states, they seek clearances from the home ministry, and then the railways.
“Once the clearance is received (from the home ministry), the ministry of railways provides the train and tickets for the total number of passengers to the state government,” another senior railway ministry official said requesting anonymity.
After the necessary clearance, the state sending the migrants has to arrange for buses for taking migrants to a railway station. A similar process is followed after the train reaches the destination station. The local authorities arrange for buses to take the migrants to their villages, and they could be put under home quarantine in accordance with the receiving state’s protocol, the second official added.
In separate guidelines issued on May 2, railways said the originating state will indicate the number of passengers travelling in a train, and then railways will print tickets and hand them over to local officials. State authorities shall collect fares after distributing tickets among the migrants, the guidelines said.
After Tuesday’s move by the railways, it is not clear if the process of paying for fares will be revised.
At present, originating states pay in some cases, while destination states bear the costs on occasions. At times, migrants have to pay for their tickets.