We need national policy on migrants, says former Maha CM Ashok Chavan

Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ashok Chavan is now the PWD Minister in the Uddhav Thackeray cabinet The Congress leader from Nanded was instrumental in stitching the threeparty alliance the Maha Vikas Aghadi and persuading the party leadership to tie up with Shiv SenaHe is the son of Shankarrao Chavan also the states former Chief Minister They fatherson are the first in history to have stewarded the stateIn an exclusive interview with IANS Ashok Chavan speaks on a host of issues the Centres economic package migrant crisis and the tackling of Covid19 in the state worst affected by the pandemic in terms of number of cases and deathsu00f0u009du0097u009cu00f0u009du0097u0094u00f0u009du0097u00a1u00f0u009du0097u00a6 u00f0u009du0097u009cu00f0u009du0097u00bbu00f0u009du0098u0081u00f0u009du0097u00b2u00f0u009du0097u00bfu00f0u009du0098u0083u00f0u009du0097u00b6u00f0u009du0097u00b2u00f0u009du0098u0084 We need a national policy on migrants Maharashtra PWD Minister AshokChavanINC MaharashtraFightsCorona MigrantLabourers MigrantWorkers pictwittercom2qGPSqwSmOmdash IANS Tweets ians_india May 14 2020Excerpts from the interviewHow is your state going to benefit from the financial package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala SitharamanThis has to be analyzed properly as to what benefit it would accrue to the state at the ground level I would welcome the financial package for the MSME Micro Small and Medium Enterprises sector but its impact has to be analysed in the stateWhat do you think about the migrant crisisLakhs of people are on roadse the Maharashtra government has deposited 100 per cent fare to the railways on behalf of the state migrants for whom Shramik Specials trains have been allowed Our party chief Sonia Gandhi has said the Congress will bear the fare cost But this has to be done in an organised manner because those who are on road dont have money to buy foode so the need is for micromanagement We should devise a strategy to minimize the pain of the migrantsHas the Maharashtra government failed to handle the migrant crisisNo The government is doing everything possible for the migrants but the Central government has left us in the lurch by not cooperating with us in handling the migrant crisis If they support the state government it can do much more As of now the state government is doing whatever it can by providing food and even taking NGOs help But the numbers are so huge that state government alone cant manage without the Central supportBut what happens if all migrants go home your state being an industrial hub how will it get labourers for industries and provide support to the systemThis is a crisis persisting for more than 34 months People want to come back they will come back to work because they have to earn to live Today the prolonged spell of lockdown has made them homesick because they are out of job But I think this is a temporary phase People will come back to earn their living as the situation normalizes and lockdown is fully liftedDont you think a policy is needed for interstate migrants so that in case of an emergency such as the present one enough care can be takenI pray no such crisis ever comes up There should be a national policy on the migrants and there should be a database so that the whereabouts of the migrants and their movement could be ascertained and they could be provided relief I think there is a need for microplanning so that migrants can be reached effectively through mobile phone and other means of technologyYou were the Chief Minister of the state How would you facilitate the return of the migrants and what steps would the government take after the situation normalizesThe corona crisis has also been a learning experiencee there has to be a sound policy The medical infrastructure number of doctors and hospitals should be enhanced The state government has allocated more funds to strengthen the medical infrastructure Such facilities have to be scaled up in cities like Mumbai which is congested and has many slums The attempt should be to improve the living condition of the peopleWhy is the situation in Maharashtra so bad and what is the status of the covid19 management in the stateThe situation in Maharashtra appears bad because we have a high number of tests We have improved testing facilities there are more labs and hospitals Thats why so many cases are being detected So compared to the situation in other countries Maharashtra is better but if you compare the situation within the country the situation in Mumbai is worsening Onethird of the total cases in the country are from Maharashtra We have taken control of all the properties of the PWD schools and vacant properties of the state government and made a blueprint to turn them into quarantine centres if the situation arises There is a concern because the number of cases is rising If the number of cases starts to come down it would boost confidence of the citizens and the frontline workersYour government consists of three political parties Do you think there is a lack of coordinationThe government is running smoothly there are no differences within the government We are incorporating Oppositions suggestions in this fight We are taking into confidence each political party including the Samajwadi Party CPIM Bahujan Vikas Aghadi and others So there is total coordination within the government But if anybody wants to do politics its a different thing But if anybody offers positive suggestions the government is inclined to listenDuring the council elections some differences surfaced with Shiv Sena and the Chief Minister was upset when the Congress fielded two candidates but later withdrew after pressure from the SenaThere were no differences with Shiv Sena We wanted to contest two seats though we had less number in the Assembly We didnt have the number of MLA to elect the second candidate Later we thought during Covid19 we should not get into a contest and call every MLA to vote for the MLC electionsDo you think the coordination between Uddhav Thackeray and your party is better and the government is running smoothlyThe coordination with the Chief Minister and his party is smooth and government is serving the people the three parties came together to offer better governanceDo you think that there is a possibility of a coup on the lines of what the BJP did in Madhya PradeshI would expect BJP not to play politics during this pandemic crisis They had tried in the beginning but you know the outcome In consultation with our partners we will fight the BJP with zeal The three parties Shiv Sena Congress and NCP are determined to complete the 5year tenureDo you think the Congress has gained some ground in the stateAfter the government was formed we hardly had two months before the corona crisis hit the country We are fully engaged in the fight against coronavirus After the crisis is over we will move towards strengthening our party in the state The morale of party cadre is high after we took a slew of measures in the interest of the peopleCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever