News is filled with the state governments debating and trying to find a way for bringing people of the respective states home, especially worker sector.
On Sunday evening, the Union Home Ministry conveyed to all the state government that the recent news of workers travelling illegally from one place to another wasn’t stated in the rules. They can only travel if they were caught in the middle of a lockdown situation and need to reach to their homes and not to give a visit to them.
This rebuke from Home Secretary, Ajay Bhalla, came after all the states government rushed to the railway’s ministry to request the locomotion of special trains to send all migrant workers home.
“The facilitation envisaged in the aforesaid orders is meant for such distressed persons, but does not extend to those categories of persons, who are otherwise residing normally at places, other than the native places for purposes of work, etc., and who wish to visit their native places in the normal course,” his letter stated. This is the first time he impressed upon the word ‘stranded’ in his letter.
Last week, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba was verbal and said in his video conference with the chief secretaries that the relaxation is not for all and states should only allow people who were stranded due to the lockdown.
The Centre decided to send the ‘clarification’ in writing on Sunday after people started putting pressure on the state government.
“It is clarified that the MHA orders are meant to facilitate the movement of such stranded persons, who had moved from their native places/workplaces, just before the lockdown period, but could not return to their native places/workplaces on account of restrictions placed on the movement of persons and vehicles as part of lockdown measures,” Ajay Bhalla’s letter stated.
The Centre had special trains for this reason but the states didn’t cooperate and hampered the work.
