Image Source: Bangalore Mirror
Bengaluru: Following public outcry over the cancellation of trains for migrant workers, which was quickly rolled back, the Karnataka High Court, on Saturday, May 9, asked the state government to place its policy regarding travel of migrant workers on record.
“We direct the State to place on record in what manner the State is going to arrange for operation of special trains for the benefit of migrants”, the HC said, according to a report by Live Law.
The Court said this during the hearing of the plea filed by the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) in this regard.
A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice B V Nagarathna said that the state government’s policy should take care of all categories of migrant workers irrespective of whether they are housed in their shelters, shelters provided by their employers or the state, or “whether they are on the streets.”
The Court also pointed out the fact that many migrants have already lost their lives “because of the accidents on the roads and on railway tracks”. “In some cases, as a result of undertaking a long walk and hunger, migrants have lost their lives,” the bench added.
It can be recalled that on May 5, the state government had decided to cancel the special trains it had arranged for migrant workers to return home, which sparked widespread criticism and outrage. The government quickly rolled back its decision and on Friday, four trains left for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar with stranded migrants and others.
When the Additional Advocate General assured the court that the state government is making arrangements to enable the stranded migrants to travel back home while adhering to the guidelines laid down by the Central Government, the bench said that it is important that there is a “rational policy of the State Government which will ensure that the rights of the migrant workers under sub-clause (d) of Clause (1) of Article 19 read with Article 14 of the Constitution are not infringed and that the migrant workers are made aware of the existence of such policy”.
Additionally, the HC directed the state to act on the complaints that contractors/employers are confining migrant workers to their shelters and not allowing them to return home.
The hearing will continue on May 12.
