The rule made by the Center, labor special trains no longer need the approval of the states

New Delhi, 19 May 2020 Tuesday

The Railways has said that the migrant workers trapped due to the lockdown are not required to seek permission from the destination state to run special labor trains to reach their hometowns.

The Railways has issued a Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) by the Ministry of Home Affairs to operate labor special trains to transport migrant laborers to their destination. After that there is no need to seek the approval of the destination states.

Railway spokesperson Rajesh Vajpayee said the approval of the terminating state was not required to run labor special trains. The situation after the new SOP is that where the train journey will end, it is not mandatory to seek state approval.

Earlier, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had said that West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh workers were reluctant to approve special trains. There was a lot of controversy over his statement as the three are non-BJP ruled states.

The Railways has operated 1566 labor special trains from May 1 to transport the traveling laborers to their destination. More than 20 lakh migrant laborers have been delivered to their homes by these trains.

Earlier, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had written a letter to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee saying that the West Bengal government was not allowing trains carrying migrant workers to reach the state, which could create more problems for the workers.

On Shah's letter, Mamata Banerjee's nephew and senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee accused Shah of lying. Not only that, he also demanded an apology from the Shah.

Meanwhile, the Center has asked the states as well as the Union Territories to run more special trains in close coordination with the railways to bring in and take out migrant laborers. With that said, take special care of women, children as well as the elderly.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, in a letter to all state governments as well as Union Territories, said the main reason for the return of trapped laborers was the threat of Kovid-19 and loss of livelihood.

"In order to address the concerns of migrant workers, I would be grateful if the following measures are taken," he said in the letter. The Home Secretary suggested that more special trains be arranged through active coordination between the States as well as the Ministry of Railways.

He also said that cleanliness, food as well as living space should be provided keeping in view the health needs. Bhalla said there should be more clarity about the departure of buses as well as trains, as the lack of clarity and rumors have led to embarrassment among the workers.