Engage stranded migrant workers housed in camps: Centre to states

New Delhi: The Centre on Sunday issued a standard operating procedure (SOPs) for movement of stranded migrant labourers, within states and union territories (UTs) where they are currently located due to nationwide lockdown.

Since additional new activities, outside the containment zones, have been permitted in the consolidated revised guidelines of the Home Ministry with effect from April 20, the stranded migrant labourers who are housed in the relief, shelter camps being run by state/ UTs, could be engaged in industrial, manufacturing, construction, farming and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) works, the MHA's SoP stated.

However, it maintained that no movement of labour to be permitted outside the state/UT where they are currently located.

The MHA SoP further stated that if a group of migrant workers wish to return to their places of work, within the state where they are presently located, they should be screened and those who are asymptomatic should be transported to their respective places of work.