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Andhra Pradesh to resume domestic flights; Plea on releasing quarantined foreigners in Delhi HC; NCDEX to launch India's first agri-futures index; ICC meet to formalise procedure for chairman’s election; Sri Lanka to ease Covid-19 restrictions

The irony was unmistakable — Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, whose party has often indulged in violence against migrant workers from UP and Bihar in Maharashtra, hit out at UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s decision that other states will need UP’s permission before hiring workers from the state. Thackeray said migrants coming to Maharashtra will need the state’s permission in order to work there. The question is, can states decide who works where?

• The storm raiser: Adityanath’s decision to set up a migration commission to provide social security, including insurance and employment, to the 23 lakh migrant workers who have returned to the state since the lockdown began on March 25, may prove to be a tall task, given that the number of unemployed in UP rose by 58% in the last two years, to 33.93 lakh. With another 200 trains expected to reach the state this week, the numbers would only rise.

• Constitutional conflict? Adityanath’s decision may also not find Constitutional justification. As per Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, “every citizen has a right to migrate to any part of the country in quest of better job opportunities and prospects. The Constitution guarantees all citizens the fundamental right to move freely through the country. The principles of free migration are enshrined in clauses (d) and (e) of Article 19 (1) of the Constitution." Even the Supreme Court held that the “the right to live, a fundamental right, and the right to work are integrated and interdependent”.
• Wrong target? What UP may find challenging is the decision’s implementation. For one, a very small percentage of migrant workers are hired directly by state governments — it’s almost always private enterprise which employs migrant labour. Plus, in most cases, an inter-state migrant does not migrate through a state-based agent or a contractor who can be tapped by the government. Even in areas of informal and low-skilled employment like construction and brick kiln work, migrants are often independent. That apart, one of the reasons why UP sees a huge outgo of its worker population is due to better pay — UP’s per capita income of Rs 70,419 compares poorly with Maharashtra’s at Rs 207,727 or Delhi’s, which is almost three times the national average, at Rs 389,143. Moreover, the enumeration of migrant workers will itself be a challenge, given that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in an interview to Economic Times, claimed neither the Centre nor the state governments had any data on the migrant workers.

The Sardarjung Observatory in Delhi on Monday a recorded a high of 44 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal. The weather station at Palam near the IGI Airport recorded a high of 46.2 degrees. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an ''orange'' warning for parts of Delhi on Tuesday. Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the regional forecasting centre of the IMD, said some respite from the stifling heat was expected on Thursday due to a fresh western disturbance and easterly winds at lower levels.

Taj Mahal. For the first time ever, Eid namaz was not offered at the Shahi mosque inside the iconic mausoleum on Monday due to the lockdown. According to the Pesh imam of the mosque, it was the first time in its 368 years that the namaz was not offered at the monument.