Today, when the migrant workers who are left to fend for themselves in this national crisis, one Mumbai based Lawyer has stood up to help the needy ones by paying sum of Rupees 25 Lakh as a transportation cost for migrants travelling from Mumbai to their native places in U.P.
The Lawyer has offered Rs. 25 lakhs before the Supreme Court towards the cost of travel of the migrants belonging to districts Basti and Sant Kabir Nagar irrespective of their caste, creed or religion. On which the Supreme Court three Judges bench of Justice Ashok Bhushan, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M.R. Shah, while hearing the Writ Petition has asked him to deposit Rs 25 Lakh with the registry of Supreme Court.
A Writ Petition was filed by Lawyer “Sagheer Ahmed Khan” under article 32 in the nature of public interest litigation to seek directions from the Apex Court to ensure that the migrant workers in Mumbai, particularly those hailing from Sant Kabir Nagar, Uttar Pradesh are safely transported home and that their continuous suffering in their various attempts to reach home (which has in certain cases even cost them their lives) be put to an end.
He mentioned that the petition was necessitated on account of the inhuman conditions of travel of migrant workers, who are constrained to undertake the journey to their hometowns either on foot or in overcrowded trucks with at least 100-120 persons in one truck. Such an arduous journey has claimed the lives of many migrant workers, who have died inter alia of exhaustion, suffocation and starvation. This is in complete violation of Article 21 i.e. righto life, of these migrant workers and also their right to live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution.
“For that despite announcement of various schemes and purported actions to deal with the migrant crisis, the situation on the ground remains grim, leading to a humanitarian crisis which may not be reversed if allowed to continue. The assurance given and purported action taken to deal with the migrant crisis as submitted by the Union of India before this Court in Writ Petition (Civil) Diary No. 10947/2020 is not seen on the ground and is not enough to protect the migrants’ right to live with dignity. Had the State authorities acted on their assurances given to this Hon’ble court, there would have been no reason for the migrants to put their life at risk by adopting to travel on foot by private trucks in deplorable conditions”, mentioned in the petition.
The petitioner added further that it is in public domain that various migrants have died while walking and Union Government and the State Governments have failed and neglected to ensure their safety and security resulting in loss of lives like in the case of the Aurangabad Train Accident.
It was contended that despite requests made by the Petitioner, the Respondents have failed and neglected to take any action to repatriate the migrants from the District: Sant Kabir Nagar. Further, despite the Petitioner’s offer to pay the cost of the tickets of the migrants of the said District, the Respondents have failed and neglected to even bother about the crisis faced by the migrants.
The petitioner counts on the failure of the Government to ensure a safe evacuation mechanism has constrained these migrant workers to undertake this arduous journey themselves, in inhuman conditions, which is in clear violation of right to live with dignity. that several migrant workers have chosen to walk several hundred kilometres to their hometowns and in the gruesome summer months, coupled with the undernourished situation of these workers, who have no money to afford any food or shelter, undertaking such an arduous journey has proved to be fatal as they have lost their lives due to exhaustion.
Thereafter, he says that the nodal officers appointed by the State Governments are at district level and it is submitted that since each district has a wide geographical area which would have large number of migrants, it is preferable to have designated officers even at Sub-Divisional and Tehsil level, who can coordinate for the safe evacuation of migrant workers.
Therefore, the Petitioner was willing to completely cooperate with the Government and is willing to extend financial help of Rs.25,00,000 for safe evacuation and transportation of migrant workers from Mumbai belonging to his hometown in Sant Kabir Nagar.
-India Legal Bureau