Kerala High Court seeks information on registration process, living conditions of migrant workers

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday called for information on the registration process and living conditions of migrant workers in the State [TGN Kumar v State of Kerala & ors]. .A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice A Muhamed Mustaque and S Manu sought these details while hearing a plea raising concerns over the large influx of migrant workers in Kerala. .The Court emphasized on the necessity for a systematic approach to monitoring the influx and living conditions of migrant workers.It proceeded to call for details of the procedure adopted by Local Self Government authorities when it comes to the registration of migrant workers and the monitoring of their living conditions. "The learned Government Pleader is directed to get instructions in regard to the registration process of the migrant workers as well as as to the living condition of the migrant workers in the State. The learned Government Pleader is directed specifically to get instructions from the Local Self Government Department whether they have device or mechanism to find out number of occupants of the residential building where the migrant workers find shelter or residence, while they are in Kerala," the Court ordered..The order was passed on a petition moved by one, TGN Kumar, who has raised several concerns regarding the large influx of migrant workers to Kerala, particularly from West Bengal. The petitioner has pointed out migrant workers who come to Kerala often possess fabricated documents regarding their identity such as fabricated Aadhar and PAN cards.The petitioner added that many of these workers have criminal backgrounds. He referred to incidents of counterfeit currency circulation and other criminal activities involving migrant workers, while stressing on the need for stringent registration and monitoring processes.He further argued that there is significant discrepancy between the official census figures and the actual numbers of migrant workers in Kerala. Officially, there are 5.2 lakh migrant workers, but the actual figure was estimated to be around 7.5 lakhs, the petitioner said. This indicated that approximately 2.5 lakh migrant workers were unregistered, making it challenging for the State to track and regulate them, the petitioner added.The petitioner informed that he has already flagged these issues in a representation made to the State's Labour Department authorities. However, no action has been taken till date despite a reminder. Therefore, the petitioner has now approached the High Court for relief. The petition has been filed through Advocate Ameer Salim..The matter will be heard next after two weeks. .[Read Order]