Jharkhand earns Niti Aayog pat for better migration management during Covid-19

Ranchi, March 29: Jharkhand participated in the National Conclave on “The Impact of COVID-19 on Migration: Benchmarking of Good Practices & Preparing for the Future” organized by the United Nations International Organisation on Migration (UN-IOM) and NITI Aayog.

In the programme held in New Delhi on Tuesday as many as nine state governments, including Jharkhand were invited at the national conference with the objective of sharing best practices related to securing the welfare of migrant workers during and after COVID pandemic, and developing a better understanding of origin states and destination states to establish a framework for the social welfare of migrant workers.

The Department of Labour, Training, Employment & Skill Development, Jharkhand was represented by the coordinator of Safe and Responsible Migration Initiative (SRMI) anchored within the Department and launched earlier by Chief Minister Hemant Soren on 16th December 2021. Key initiatives undertaken successfully by the Government of Jharkhand under the leadership of CM Hemant Soren, Minister of Labour, Planning, Training and Skill Development – Satyanand Bhokta and state and district administration to support the migrant workers during the pandemic times were highlighted.

The Jharkhand government launched the Safe and Responsible Migration Initiative (SRMI) on Thursday to enable systemic registration of migrant workers for monitoring and analysis in the source as well as the destination districts. To begin with, the government will have two help desks—which will be known as ‘labour consulates’—in Ladakh Union Territory as well as in Kerala.

Between March 27, 2020 to October 31, 2021, a total of 9.66 lakh workers have returned to Jharkhand. A migrant control room also runs in the state to cater to the problems of the labourers stuck in different states and to bring back dead bodies of the workers.

Several other states also presented during the session which was chaired by  Dr Muniraju. S.B, Deputy Adviser, NITI Aayog and co-chaired by Sarat Dash, IOM, DG’s Special Envoy to India. The effort of the Jharkhand government to drive a welfare-centric approach to mitigate the migration crisis and a sustained approach towards mainstreaming migration was appreciated by everyone.

Dr Muniraju lauded the Jharkhand Government for the visible commitment and exemplary work done towards the welfare of migrant workers and the protection of their rights in the last two years. Sarat Dash appreciated the Government of Jharkhand for launching SRMI which can set a guiding example for other states to follow. In the recent past, NITI Aayog has recognized the efforts taken by the Government of Jharkhand and acknowledged that SRMI has the potential to be a lighthouse policy initiative in the country.

The Safe and Responsible Migration Initiative (SRMI) is working closely with source districts, destination states, and NGOs to develop a data-driven policy framework for safeguarding the welfare of migrant workers from Jharkhand.