The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered states and union territories to ensure registration of around one crore migrant workers at village and block levels to identify their employability and provide them jobs suitably in the home states.
A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan directed that the state administration shall collect all the relevant information about migrants who have come back, with specific details on the kinds of jobs they were earlier associated with.
It asked for skill mapping of the migrants who have come back and plans to give them employment now.
The bench asked the states and union territories to gather pertinent information and submit in the court through their affidavits the schemes available to provide jobs to the migrants at native places.
The bench, which also included Justices Sanjay K Kaul and MR Shah, also set a deadline of 15 days for the Centre and states to send back migrants. It obligate the Railways to provide a train within 24 hours of a demand being made by any state to ferry migrant workers.
The apex court also favoured quashing of all criminal cases against migrants who had proceeded on foot, some by bicycles etc. It said all states and union territories should consider withdrawal all complaints and prosecution against the migrant workers for violating the lockdown rules.
It added the states should provide counselling to the migrants wherever required.
The court will take up the matter next on July 8 by which the states and union territories have to submit reports on the existing schemes, employment generation etc for the migrant workers.
