'Govt will not stop its efforts till every single migrant is shifted': Centre tells SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday heard the matter surrounding the condition of the migrant workers stranded across various states due to the nation-wide lockdown in the country. Several senior lawyers including Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta along with Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal, Colin Gonsalves, Indira Jaising, Sanjay Parikh and Abhishek Manu Singhvi made arguments before the three-judge bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan.

Solicitor General began the arguments before the Supreme Court stating that "some unfortunate instances have come to light, even as the Government was doing all that it can to tackle the situation". "I must tell everyone that the government will not stop its efforts until every single migrant is not shifted," the Solicitor General said.

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Preliminary report filed

The Centre on Thursday also filed its preliminary report before the top court on the steps that were being taken by the government to facilitate the movement of the migrants. "A total of 1.85 lakh migrants are being daily transported via 187 trains on an average," Tushar Mehta said. In some neighbouring states, the migrants are being moved via roads, taking the daily tally up to 3 lakh 36 thousand. "This movement of migrants is being done in coordination with the originating State, the receiving State and the Railway Ministry," Tushar Mehta stated.

The bench pointed out certain concerns that the Supreme Court had regarding the condition of the migrants, due to which, the Supreme Court had been compelled to take suo-moto cognisance of the matter. The primary concern of the Supreme Court was that no migrant should be made to pay the fare to travel back home either by rail or via road. The Solicitor General clarified that as the condition stands today, the fare was being borne by either the originating State and the receiving State, or in the case of some parts in Bihar, the migrants were being reimbursed. "Originating State picks up the migrants and brings them to railway stations. Once at the stations, the migrants are screened and deemed fit or unfit for travel. The trains that they travel in are always sanitised before the journey starts and social distancing norms are compulsorily followed throughout the journey," he said.

Other concerns of the Supreme Court were pertaining to the meals being provided to the migrants who were travelling, as well as those stranded in States, apart from their home States. The Centre told the Supreme Court that regular meals were being provided to the migrants who were travelling or stranded. "The first meal, at the station, is provided by the government of the originating state. Meals are also provided in trains by the Railways. If the journey is short then one meal is given, and if the journey is long then 2 meals are given," the Solicitor General said. These steps were being taken in addition to the 5 kg of rice and 1 kg of pulses being provided to all migrants stranded in other states.

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The Solicitor General also told the Supreme Court of the system that had been adopted by the Uttar Pradesh government through which migrants were encouraged to undergo the compulsory quarantine period by offering them Rs. 1000 in cash after the quarantine was completed successfully. "This has worked very well," the SG said. But not all migrants are eager to go back home, according to the Centre. "A lot of migrants have decided to walk back home instead of waiting for trains or buses mainly because there is local level instigation which is encouraging them to walk back home".

In regard to this, the Solicitor General told the Supreme Court that "as an officer of the Court, he had complaints that needed to be voiced". He went on to say that "a large number of steps have been taken by the government and the Supreme Court was fully satisfied with those earlier, but there are some 'prophets of doom', who only spread negativity. All these people writing their opinions on social media, writing articles and giving interviews cannot even begin to acknowledge what is being done," he exclaimed.

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"They don't have the patriotism to acknowledge that the states and the government are working over-night to tackle this crisis. From the safai karamchari till the PM, everyone is living under threat, yet still working," he added. He objected to the applications for intervention filed in the matter before the Supreme Court by Congress leader Randeep Surjewala and activist Medha Patkar stating, "before entertaining any of them, ask them to file an affidavit on what has been their contribution to this crisis? Except for writing on social media, what have they done? Have they even stepped out of their air-conditioned drawing rooms to see the situation on the ground?," Tushar Mehta questioned. He also urged the Supreme Court to not allow the institution to become a platform for political speeches by giving an opportunity to the interveners to argue.

Read the submissions of SG Tushar Mehta here: 

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The Supreme Court after almost 3 hours of arguments, allowed the states to file their respective reports on the steps taken by them within a week while also issuing a slew of directions to the governments at the Centre and State level. The Supreme Court ordered the governments to ensure that no migrant is charged a single penny to travel back to their home States, either by road or by rail. The payment of fares of railway tickets is to be done by the receiving State or the originating State. In any scenario, the migrant worker cannot be asked to bear the cost of the ticket. It also asked the governments to ensure that the migrants were being provided with food, water and basic essentials during the time they were stranded, as well as when they were travelling. The matter will now be heard on June 5.