On Thursday, the Supreme Court in its interim order on the continuing migrant labourers' crisis which emanated from the nationwide lockdown, said the workers won't be charged for their journeys back home, adding the bus and train fares will be shared by the states.

A bench of comprising of Justice Ashok Bhushan, Justice S K Kaul and Justice M R Shah also said the stranded migrant labourers will be provided food by states and union territories till the time they board a train or a bus back home.

The Top Court has also directed the states and union territories to publicise the place and period for providing the food to migrant labourers. It added states will provide meals to the labourers at the station, and the railways will do the same during the journeys.

The apex court directed states oversee the registration of migrant workers and ensure that they are made to board the train or bus at the earliest.

It said that complete information in this regard should be publicised to all concerned.

The court observed that it is presently concerned with the miseries and difficulty faced by the migrants workers who are trying to get to their native places.

The Bench remarked that stranded migrant workers who want to travel back to their home states should not be stopped.

“When a migrant worker wishes to go to a state, no state can say that we will not take you,”, it said.

It said though there is no doubt that concerned state governments and UTs are taking steps, several lapses have been issued in the process of registration, transportation and providing food water to the migrants.

Earlier, the court asked Solictor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, about the confusion over the payment of travel fare of stranded migrant workers and said that they should not made to pay for their journey back home.

The bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta during the hearing:

“What is the normal time? If a migrant is identified, there must be some certainty that he will be shifted out within one week or ten days at most? What is that time? There had been instances where one state sends migrants but at the border another State says we are not accepting the migrants. We need a policy on this."

 On May 26, the top court had taken cognizance of the miseries of migrant workers and said there have been “inadequacies and certain lapses” by the Centre and the states, and asked them to provide transport, food and shelter immediately free of cost. 

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