No Fare To Be Charged, States To Provide Meal & Water: SC On Migrant Workers

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Centre and states not to charge migrant workers for travelling in train or bus to their native places.

“All migrant workers who are stranded at various places shall be provided food by concerned states and Union Territories (UTs) at places which shall be publicised and notified to them for the period they are waiting for their turn to board a train or a bus,” the division bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, which held the hearing via video-conferencing, said.

The court also directed the Railways to share the ticket fare with the concerned states. 

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul and M R Shah, that around 91 lakh migrant workers had travelled to their native states since Shramik Special train service began on May 1.

The court said that it was concerned with the miseries and difficulty faced by the migrants workers, who are trying to reach their native places.

“No doubt the governments have taken steps but those persons are not getting the benefits from the state governments,” the SC said.

Mehta told the SC that the Centre and states had done a lot to control the COVID-19 situation and help migrant workers.  “But certain unfortunate incidents were repeatedly telecast or reported to shadow the good work by the governments,” he further added.