NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday that the Centre was taking swift measures to alleviate the problems faced by the poor, migrant workers and farmers and had initiated immediate steps as soon as the Covid-19 pandemic led to a lockdown, saying the sight of migrants on roads with children was tugging at her heart.
Sitharaman elaborated on the measures in some detail, a likely response to opposition criticism that the Centre’s package on Wednesday did not address the woes of migrants. “We will keep in mind and prioritise concerns related to migrant workers, farmers and the poor and those who are in need,” she said, adding that within hours of the lockdown, the Centre unveiled the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana to provide relief to the poor, farmers and migrants.
Detailing the second tranche of the Atmanirbhar Bharat package, the FM said the Centre will come out with more steps for the poor, farmers and migrants and recalled PM Narendra Modi’s comment that the government was committed to the poor. The outreach and its articulation was significant as the urban poor, small vendors and factory hands have been hit hard and many have headed home.
“The government is fully alive to the job needs of migrants once they return home. Hence, the MGNREGA support,” she said. The FM cited data to show the increase in demand under MGNREGA, saying 40% to 50% more people had enrolled in May compared to the previous year period.
“The government is concerned about migrants. Even today, it touches all our hearts when we see migrants, with families, children walking on the roads with their bag and baggage,” she said.
The FM said the Centre was working with states to transport migrants using the rail network. She said the first step was the PM asking them to stay where they were so that they were safe and were provided with food and shelter.
She cited data to demonstrate the scale of the operations undertaken by the Centre and states to transport migrants and said 1,200 Shramik Specials were ready and railways had already run 806 such trains and transported 10 lakh migrants to their destinations
Sitharaman elaborated on the measures in some detail, a likely response to opposition criticism that the Centre’s package on Wednesday did not address the woes of migrants. “We will keep in mind and prioritise concerns related to migrant workers, farmers and the poor and those who are in need,” she said, adding that within hours of the lockdown, the Centre unveiled the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana to provide relief to the poor, farmers and migrants.
Detailing the second tranche of the Atmanirbhar Bharat package, the FM said the Centre will come out with more steps for the poor, farmers and migrants and recalled PM Narendra Modi’s comment that the government was committed to the poor. The outreach and its articulation was significant as the urban poor, small vendors and factory hands have been hit hard and many have headed home.
“The government is fully alive to the job needs of migrants once they return home. Hence, the MGNREGA support,” she said. The FM cited data to show the increase in demand under MGNREGA, saying 40% to 50% more people had enrolled in May compared to the previous year period.
“The government is concerned about migrants. Even today, it touches all our hearts when we see migrants, with families, children walking on the roads with their bag and baggage,” she said.
The FM said the Centre was working with states to transport migrants using the rail network. She said the first step was the PM asking them to stay where they were so that they were safe and were provided with food and shelter.
She cited data to demonstrate the scale of the operations undertaken by the Centre and states to transport migrants and said 1,200 Shramik Specials were ready and railways had already run 806 such trains and transported 10 lakh migrants to their destinations
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