Gujarat High Court Asks Railways To Waive One-Way Ticket Fare Of Migrants

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court has directed the railway authorities to waive one-way prepare ticket fees of migrant staff, or the state authorities ought to bear the price in its place association.

It stated the federal government’s response to a PIL in search of the courtroom’s course totally free transportation of migrant staff stranded because of the lockdown displays that journey fees levied by the railway authorities are borne by just a few host states, NGOs, employers, voluntary associations, and “this is not done”.

“We direct the railway authorities to waive one-way charges of these migrant labourers or in the alternative, for the state government to bear such charges,” a division bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and IJ Vora stated on Friday.

The courtroom’s order got here after the Vijay Rupani authorities stated in a written reply that out of 22.5 lakh migrant staff in Gujarat, solely 7,512 had been registered beneath the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act they usually had been thus, eligible for journey allowance.

“The state government shall ensure that migrant workers do not have to face further difficulties for the purpose of travelling to their native places. The work in this regard shall continue in the right direction,” the courtroom stated in an order.

The state authorities informed the courtroom that almost 22.5 lakh inter-state migrant staff lived in Gujarat, as per the state labour division’s information.

But, provisions of the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act had been relevant to solely 7,512 staff who had been registered beneath it.

“Most of the 22.5 lakh migrant workers have come on their own and provisions for payment of travel and displacement allowances, as required under Sections 14 and 15 of the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, were not applicable to them,” it stated.

Under sections 14 and 15 of the Act, contractors are required to pay journey and displacement allowances to staff.

The state authorities informed the courtroom that the Railways had been accumulating transportation fees from staff though journey preparations had been being made on the district-level by NGOs and civil society organisations.

States, together with Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, have stated they’d reimburse journey bills to the Railways instantly, it stated. “No migrant worker has been denied travel to his hometown on account of non-payment of travel charges,” the Gujarat authorities claimed.

Following the coronavirus-enforced lockdown, over 11 lakh migrant staff have to date left from Gujarat for his or her native locations by Shramik Special trains.