BHUBANESWAR: Deputy chief minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo on Monday announced that a committee will be set up to directly engage with households in vulnerable areas to identify the causes and recommend measures to curb distress migration from the state.
The committee will act in coordination with the enforcement officers, police, railway officers and district administration in a mission mode and crack down on unauthorised labour contractors responsible for exploitation of migrant workers at the hands of their employers.
The decision was taken at the third meeting of the high-level task force on distress migration under the chairmanship of Singh Deo in Lok Seva Bhawan. “We had wide-ranging discussions on issues having direct and indirect bearing on distress migration to find a way to address the socio-economic problem. It was decided to ensure 100 per cent coverage of households under government welfare schemes in the migration-prone districts as the topmost priority,” Singh Deo said.
The deputy chief minister, though, said there has been noticeable drop in migration in the past one year compared to previous years. “I will not say that it has totally been eradicated but certainly reduced to some extent. The input assistance of `800 per quintal of paddy over and above the minimum support price has helped in reducing the number of migrant workers. Some of them also got employment in the state and preferred not to migrate as they used to do,” he added.
Singh Deo said, as per an earlier decision, Nudge Foundation has been entrusted the job to study the reasons behind the distress migration. Based on the survey and the data available with the government, it was also decided to implement livelihood and welfare schemes such as Odisha PVTG Empowerment and Livelihoods Programme, Mukhyamantri Janajati Jeevika Mission, Mukhyamantri Krushi Udyog Yojana (MKUY), Kamdhenu Yojana, MGNREGS, Subhadra Yojana and plantation schemes to the fullest extent in the high migration-prone areas.
The meeting also discussed various initiatives such as provisioning additional 200 mandays under MGNREGS for unskilled workers, expanding Gramodaya Yojana and Model Gram Panchayat programmes, and implementing contract farming to ensure income parity for migrant workers.
Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida, Revenue minister Suresh Pujari, Panchayati Raj minister Rabi Narayan Naik, ST&SC Development minister Nityananda Gond, Labour and Employment minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia, Industries minister Sampad Chandra Swain and Fisheries & Animal Resources Development minister Gokulananda Mallik were present at the meeting.