PANAJI
In a major step towards welfare of migrants, the Government of Goa has decided to prepare a ‘Goa State Migrant Workers Cell’ in Goa. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced the formation of the migration Cell in Goa to assist in maintaining exact data of migrants with their registration in the cell and also help to reduce crime rate in the State.
Chairing a meeting held at Secretariat, Porvorim on Monday, Sawant said the estimated number is in lakhs, but there is no specific data available with any department on migrants in Goa. Absence of data, support and coordination among source states leads to lack of structured programmes to support these migrants.
This leads to security issues and reduces effective contribution of migrants to Goa economy, he pointed out and appealed to all the line departments especially Labour, Health, Fisheries, Collector to give inputs/suggestions.
Secretary, Fisheries, PS Reddy (IAS); Secretary, Health, Amit Satija, IAS; Secretary, Tribal Welfare S.K. Bhandari, (IAS); Special Secretary, Home, Dr Tariq Thomas, IAS; DGP, Mukesh Kumar Meena, Officers from Labour Commissioner, Health, Fisheries Police Department were present on the occasion.
Dr Anjali Borhde, made a presentation on details of Migration Cell prepared by Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India. Goa is a major destination State for migrant workers from different states like Jharkhand, Odisha, Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, North East States, Maharashtra, etc. due to high wage rates compared to other states. The large numbers of migrant workers are mainly found employed in hospitality, construction, fishery, domestic and other sectors.
As per 2011 census, 1,128,812 persons have been reportedly migrated in the State, out of which 32 per cent persons migrated in the state after birth.
The Government of Goa therefore proposes to set up a dedicated cell to have a comprehensive data of all these migrant workers and their families, who travel to Goa in search of employment and to provide them welfare facilities including addressing their issues.
The objective of the Cell is to create a database of migrant workers in Goa, which will be useful during State/ National emergencies, natural calamities and other situations like pandemic, to extend assistance and government “led benefits to migrant workers and their families, to have a detailed profile of migrant workers including socio- demographics details, details of native place, skill mapping, status of inclusion in social security and migration pattern, to create a detailed mapping and classify the workers on the basis of their skill which will help in boosting their livelihood and ensure their dignity.
Outcome of the cell is that the Government will get one-stop digital data on migrants which will help to identify and bridge gaps in policies and programmes for promoting better inclusion of migrants in the State. It will also support various departments for cross cutting and holistic approaches for addressing needs of migrants such as linkages with social security schemes, job support, financial inclusion, health services, education etc.
