Resentment
mounts as more migrants come crossing borders
By Rabindra Nath Sinha
Khasi Students Union (KSU) president Lambokstar Marngar wants the Meghalaya government to ensure that migrant workers who come to the state for livelihood are all Indians. Asked whether he has doubts that at least some of them may not be Indians, Marngar told IPA that KSU has reasons to suspect that. Asked to identify states from which people migrate to Meghalaya, he mentioned Assam, Bihar. Knowledgeable quarters told IPA people from West Bengal too go to that north-eastern state for livelihood. They also cite the recent upheavals in Bangladesh and apprehend some influx to Meghalaya from Bangladesh.
The reason for suspicion lies in the border. Assam's border with Meghalaya measures 884.9 km, which involves some eight districts that include Cachar, Dima Hasao, West Karbi Anglong, Kamrup Metropolitan, Kamrup, Goalpara etc. Population-related complexities with presence of foreigners as the most controversial sub-issue have been dominating the narrative in Assam for several decades and even now there are scores of irritants that remain to be sorted out by the Centre and the state government.
Out of the 4,096 km India-Bangladesh border, the segment with Meghalaya measures 443 km which covers three Bangladeshi divisions –Mymensingh and Sylhet to the south and Rangpur to the west. Even during peacetime influx from Bangladesh remains a key issue in India. The turmoil since the first week of August has complicated matters, particularly trade that involves deals for foodgrains, onions, sugar and local fish from Bangladesh. For Meghalaya's coal, limestone and boulders Bangladesh is an important market. The main points of trade are Dawki Integrated Check Post, Ghasupara Land Customs Station (LCS) in South Garo Hills, Borsora LCS in West Khasi Hills and Shella LCS in East Khasi Hills. Then, there are border haats in places, such as, Balat, Ringku, Majai, Nalikata and Kalaichar.
The suspicion that migrant labour earning their livelihood in Meghalaya also includes persons who are not Indians has been responsible for the emergence of pressure groups which often have been setting up ‘check gates' to seize and verify documents from non-tribal people and migrant workers. The proclaimed aim of the pressure groups has been to check inflow of illegal immigrants and protect indigenous communities. Their drive did lead to detection of over 2,500 people working without valid documents, KSU sources pointed out.
But, this practice of pressure groups has been giving rise to law and order problems which became a cause of concern for the National People's Party-led ministry with Conrad Sangma as the chief minister. The ministry realised that while migrant workers who with their labour contribute to the economy had to be protected, the grievances of the pressure groups too had to be addressed. In construction projects of government agencies and public sector enterprises, migrant workers constitute a key component of the total labour force engaged by the project authorities. The government faced a ticklish situation as rights organisations accused it of going soft on the pressure groups even when they resorted to violence. [KSU) sources said their intention never has to been to disturb peace and harmony in the state].
On August 30, the ministry got the Meghalaya Identification, Registration (Safety & Security) of Migrant Workers Amendment Bill, 2024 passed by the Meghalaya Assembly. The amendment pertained to Meghalaya Identification, Registration (Safety & Security) of Migrant Workers Act 2020 which had been gazetted on September 15, 2020. The amendment introduced important changes designed to improve implementation and enforcement of the 2020 Act. A new clause to Section 2 has been added defining the role of an inspector – an official appointed by the government. The 2020 Act lacked a clear definition of the crucial enforcement role.
A new Section 3A has been incorporated in the Act, outlining the responsibilities of registering officers, who have also been empowered to impose penalties in case of violations of the Act. A crucial update to Section 4 introduces harsher penalties for employers who fail to register their migrant workers – from Rs 5,000 to Rs one lakh. Repeat offenders could face imprisonment for up to three months.
Informed quarters say much will hinge on execution of the new penal provisions and the role that inspectors play in this regard. It should not culminate into an ‘inspector raj' of pre-economic reform times with attendant hills.
For the record, according to The 2020 Act, migrant workers means any person not belonging to the State of Meghalaya and who is not domiciled in the State of Meghalaya, who seeks employment or is employed to perform any of the works defined in sub-section (k) of this Section ;
Under sub-section (k), work means work in any establishment as skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled, manual, technical or clerical worker, whether the terms of employment be expressed or implied, but does not include any work ordinarily involving research or is in managerial, administrative or supervisory capacity etc. (IPA Service)
