More than seven lakh migrant workers sent home, haven't received Centre's help: Maharashtra Minister

Deshmukh said that the state government spends around Rs 85 crore from the chief minister relief fund to foot the bill of migrant workers fares expenses.
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh (File photo| ANI)
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh (File photo| ANI)

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Home minister Anil Deshmukh has said that so far 7.38 lakh migrant workers have left Mumbai for their native states and that the state bore the expense of up to Rs 85 crore to send them home. 

“During the lockdown, the migrant workers had no work so they decided to go back to their native states. Earlier the state government had asked to restart the trains for the migrant workers but the centre government delayed its decisions.

Due to this many migrants left by road and started walking to native places,” Deshmukh said adding the state government diligently pursued the matter with the centre.

Deshmukh said that the state government spends around Rs 85 crore from the chief minister relief fund to foot the bill of migrant workers fares expenses.

“Central government had announced that it would take care of 85% the travel expenses of migrant workers but it has yet to pay the money. Migrants had no money for travel fare. We as state government are bearing the cost of this travel expense in the absence of central government help,” said Deshmukh.

He said that initially the West Bengal and Bihar government refused to take in the migrants. “But the NCP chief Sharad Pawar spoke with both government heads and ensured that the migrants will go back to their native states. We need at least 100 trains daily to send back the stranded migrant workers to their state,” he added.

In addition to Railways, the State Government sent home 3.80 lakh labourers through more than 32 thousand buses, either till the border of their states or till the Railway stations for which the state spent Rs 75 crores.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that they are ensuring systems are in place to bring the state economy back on track. “Total of 70,000 industries have been given green signal to resume and 50,000 have started their operations with six lakh persons back on work," he said.

The State Transport buses have started within districts in green zone areas.

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