Make data on stranded migrant workers public: CIC to govt

New Delhi: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the government to make public data on migrant workers stranded in different parts of the country, relief camps or at workplaces. The directive comes in response to a complaint filed by RTI activist Venkatesh Nayak, who had sought information from the chief labour commissioner on the number of migrant workers stranded, the district wise list of male and female workers, the sector-wise breakup of migrant workers and the states to which they belonged. On April 8, chief labour commissioner asked all regional heads to enumerate every migrant worker. The reports from 20 regional centres had to be submitted in three days. However, the chief labour commissioner’s office replied under RTI that it had no such information. Nayak filed a complaint with CIC.

Assessing the gravity of the situation, information commissioner VN Sarna heard the complaint out of turn and took a grim view of the way the application was handled. “There is no reason why the regional heads would not have complied with the instructions of the respondent public authority to complete the enumeration exercise and send the data within the time period specified in the said letter. Therefore the reply of the CPIO is difficult to believe and highly unacceptable. There is no reason why this public authority ought not to have such information in their custody when such information has been specifically called for through the letter,” Sarna observed in her 13-page judgement. Terming the handling of application as "callous and casual", Sarna directed the chief labour commissioner to disclose maximum data. CIC has given the government one week to upload this data and submit a compliance report to the commission.