Don’t charge fare, give food to migrants:SC
Railways must provide trains as and when state govts put in a request, says top court
NEW DELHI: Migrant workers returning home cannot be made to pay for their journeys and should be provided food by states/Union territories at designated places notified to them during their wait for trains or buses, the Supreme Court said in an interim directive on Thursday, while also advocating the need for a uniform policy to do away with any kind of confusion in dealing with the migrants crisis.
A bench headed by justice Ashok Bhushan, which heard the case through video conferencing, asked Indian Railways and states where special trains for migrants are originating to provide food and water to the workers, and directed the authorities to take people found walking to their hometowns to shelter homes.
“Although there is no doubt that concerned state governments and Union territories are taking steps, there are several lapses...in the process of registration, transportation and providing food water to the migrants...
Even after registration the migrants have to wait for a long time for their turns to come.
“At present, looking at the miseries of the migrant workers, we are of the view that some interim directions need to be issued,” the three-judge bench, also comprising justices SK Kaul and MR Shah, said.
The court asked originating states and railways to provide meals and water to migrants during train journeys, as is the current practice. “As and when the state governments put in a request for trains, railways has to provide them,” the bench said. The interim direction added that certain details be brought on record: number of those awaiting transportation to their hometowns, plan for transportation and mechanism of registration with states that are sending them back.
The court said replies by states and the Centre in the case will have to filed by June 5. Various private parties, too, have sought intervention in the case, including non-government organisations (NGOs) and Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.
The top court took note of the matter on Tuesday with the plight of migrant labourers spiralling into a humanitarian crisis in the wake of the lockdown announced to contain the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Scores of migrants lost their jobs and began walking hundreds of kilometres to their hometowns without access to food or water in a massive socio-economic fallout of the lockdown. It was only in May that the central government launched special buses and trains to ferry them home even as many died in road accidents.
At Thursday’s hearing, the court threw at the Centre a volley of questions — from the period a person has to wait before boarding a train or bus to the logistics of ferrying them home to arrangements for their food and shelter.
“What is the normal time? If a migrant is identified, there must be some certainty that he will be shifted out within one week or 10 days at most?...There have been instances where one state sends migrants but at the border another state says we are not accepting the migrants. We need a policy on this,” the bench told solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Centre.
Asked about who pays for migrants’ journeys back home, Mehta said it was either the states receiving them or those sending them. “In some cases, the money is reimbursed by the receiving state,” he said.
The bench noted that such a policy creates confusion and underscored the need for a uniform policy. The court also pointed out that in case of reimbursement, a person should have money in the first place to buy a ticket to reach home.
The issue of train tickets has triggered a controversy in the past with opposition parties accusing the Centre of ignoring migrants and making them pay for their journeys. The Centre, however, says it is paying for 85% of the expenses, and states need to bear the cost of the remaining 15%.
“Food and drinking water is provided by railways free of cost. The first meal is provided by the state government [at point of origin] once the train starts. The food [on board] is provided by the railway ministry. If the journey is short, then one meal. And if it’s long, then two meals,” Mehta said, while also detailing the protocols followed at their destinations.
At the onset, Mehta submitted a preliminary report in the court, saying a total of 3,700 special trains for migrants had been run between May 1 and May 27, and many have been shifted by road. He said 9.7 million migrant workers had been ferried to their hometowns till Wednesday, adding that 80% of the migrants were from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The court asked whether the people being transport were asked “to shell out any money at any stage?” “With food surplus available with the FCI [Food Corporation of India], is food being supplied to them while they wait for being transported back?” the bench asked.
Mehta said: “They are provided with food... This is an unprecedented crisis and we are taking unprecedented measures”.
The bench also enquired how much time the Centre will need to ferry all migrants to their destinations, and asked it to consider a monitoring mechanism for “food and basic necessities”. “It’s not that the government is doing nothing, but some concrete steps have to be taken,” the court said.
Mehta said many of the labourers opted not to shift due to the gradual reopening of activities. But when the authorities find a group that is walking, a bus reaches them and takes them to the nearest railway station, he added.
“They have already left their houses. So where is the foodgrain?” the court asked. To this, Mehta said, the Centre will file a detailed report on the issue. He also called for separate reports from states.
During the hearing, the court pointed out that no state should have the right to reject migrant workers coming back. “There is no question about that. They are all citizens of India,” Mehta replied.
Mehta also complained to the court about “prophets of doom” who keep spreading what he called misinformation.
“The Centre is doing a lot to prevent Covid-19, but there are prophets of doom in our country who only spread negativity, negativity, negativity. These arm chair intellectuals do not recognise the nation’s efforts,” Mehta said, requesting the court not to let anyone “use this platform” as a “political platform”.
DURING THE HEARING, THE COURT POINTED OUT THAT NO STATE SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO REJECT MIGRANT WORKERS COMING BACK