Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday, 10 February, that 17 migrant workers have lost their lives in Maharashtra during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown between March and September 2020.
Gangwar stated that there have been no reports of loss of lives of migrant workers from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, Nagaland, Manipur and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and that the process to collect more information from other states and union territories (UTs) are ongoing, reported The Indian Express.
“As per the information gathered, around one crore labourers returned to their home states from their workplace states. But, now most of them have gone back to work and are getting placement,” Gangwar said during Question Hour in the Parliament, quoted PTI.
The MP added that there are 10 crore labourers in the organised sector and 40 crore in the unorganised sector. The Centre is focusing on shifting workforce from the unorganised sector to the organised sector, according to Gangwar.
“Employment generation coupled with improving employability is the priority of the government,” said his written reply, as quoted by The Indian Express.
The Centre is taking on various initiatives to generate employment and increase public expenditure for public welfare, including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, stated Gangwar.
“The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS), is a demand-driven wage employment programme. A rural household, adult members of which agree to unskilled manual work, is entitled for hundred days of wage employment.”Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Labour and Employment Minister, quoted PTI
(With inputs from PTI and The Indian Express.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)