It has been more than three months since the first wave of migrant workers made their way to the safety of their native villages. Loss of livelihood, unemployment and lack of sustenance because of the sudden lockdown had forced lakhs of them to leave their workplaces in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana, among others.
They returned to their states of origin, which mostly welcomed them with open arms and promised them jobs. At least three states—Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand—undertook a massive exercise to map the skills of each migrant worker in order to employ them suitably. But reports suggest that most of them are languishing without jobs, especially the skilled workers.
While some of the migrant workers have made their way back to places in Maharashtra and Gujarat where they used to be employed, a majority of them are only waiting for the Covid-19 pandemic to ease before they return to search for employment. The plight of the migrant workers only underlines the lack of job opportunities in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand, from where lakhs of migrant workers flock to cities annually in search of work.
Bihar, which used to top the list of ‘Bimaru’ states, is now among the fastest growing in India with a high GSDP. Yet, on many indices, it is still at the bottom of the heap. The average monthly income of farmers in Bihar is the lowest in the country, at a mere Rs 3,558. It is followed by West Bengal at Rs 3,980, Uttarakhand at Rs 4,701, Jharkhand at Rs 4,721 and Uttar Pradesh at Rs 4,923.
With such poor income opportunities, it is no wonder that many rural folk from these states acquire other skill sets and seek out greener pastures in more industrialised states. It is, therefore, incumbent upon such states to try and end the migrant problem. They have to create better conditions that will disincentivise workers from looking out. They have to attract industries and capital to invest more in order to boost jobs. But unfortunately, they do not seem to have succeeded so far.
