Daijiworld media Network - Mumbai (SS)
Mumbai, May 6: The Bombay High asked the state government on Tuesday to file a reply clarifying whether they can bear the travel expenses and medical screening costs of those migrant workers who wish to return to their home states between the lockdown.
Several NGOs seeking relief measures for the migrant workers, slum dwellers and homeless people appealed to the high court by filing Public Interest Litigations. Through a video-conference, Justice Sirish Gupte C directed the state government to file their reply by May 8.
The advocates appearing for the NGOs, Advocates Kranti LC and Ronita Bhattacharya, submitted that the Congress had said that their state units would bear the costs of railway transportation for the migrants. Soon after, the Centre announced that they would bear 85% of the cost and that the remaining 15% would be paid by the respective states.
The petitioners said that since the Congress is a stakeholder in the Maharashtra government, clarity on who shall be paying for the migrant workers was needed. Migrants have to further pay in order to obtain medical clearance certificates to return home and the petitioners appealed for the government to pay for these as well.
Justice Gupta requested the central and state governments to coordinate amongst themselves and inform the court on how they will pay for these migrants’ journeys back home.
Due to the large number of COVID-19 positive cases being reported in the slums and the heavily populated areas of the city, NGO Ghar Bachao, Ghar Banao appealed to the court to direct the BMC and state government to provide homeless people and slum dwellers in the city with cooked meals, access to mobile toilets and ensuring that their areas are sanitized.
The court noted that these problems can be addressed by already constituted committees on taluk and district levels.
The police issued a revised copy of curfew guidelines on Tuesday, restricting all non-essential travel from 8 pm to 7 am until May 17 midnight. The order gave exceptions for individuals with medical emergencies, those working in hospitals, pharmacies, medical colleges, public utility services, godowns and print and electronic media.