Bhopal- To integrate migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh who are working in other states with government schemes, their registration will now be available on the portal. These workers will receive food grains from the state government.

Through the National Food Security Act, workers who are not receiving food grains will be registered on the portal to avail the benefits of government schemes. This provision is also being extended to workers in the unorganized sector.

It is noteworthy that migrant workers came into the spotlight three years ago when they returned to their homes in Madhya Pradesh during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Since then, the state government has implemented a registration system for migrant workers to keep track of how many people from each district are residing in other states.

Recently, the Labor Department has instructed all district collectors to issue eligibility slips (ration cards) to unorganized and migrant workers. This will be done under a new category in the Priority Category of the National Food Security Act 2013.

The Labor Department will act as the nodal agency for this registration. This decision is being implemented in accordance with the Supreme Court's order in Public Interest Litigation No. MA 94/2022.

The order stipulates that unorganized and migrant workers who are currently unable to access food grains will be registered to receive rations. Eligibility criteria have been set, stating that registered labor under the Chief Minister's Jan Kalyan Sambal Yojana and migrant workers registered on the E-Shram portal will be eligible. Only those workers who are unable to benefit from the Food Security Act due to not meeting any category criteria will be registered.

Additionally, it has been stipulated that for a family to be eligible for benefits, the head of the family or any other member must not be an income taxpayer or employed as a first, second, or third-grade employee or officer in any central or state government office, government or semi-government office, or public sector undertaking.

Registration Process and Guidelines

Migrant workers who are not receiving eligibility slips for rations can avail themselves of this benefit. To do so, all documents must be submitted to the gram panchayat or ward office. After document verification, the application will be recorded on the Ration Mitra portal and forwarded to the local body.

The responsible local body officials will review the application and, if eligible, will forward it to the Assistant and Junior Supply Officers, who will then issue the eligibility slips. Each eligible family member will receive five kilograms of food grains.

The registration process involves registering on the Samagra Social Security Mission portal, providing the Samagra Family ID and IDs of all family members, including their Aadhar card information. A certificate of registration from the Chief Minister's Jan Kalyan Sambal Yojana will be required, along with a mobile number of the family head or a member. Migrant workers will receive food grains through a POS machine.

Under the One Nation One Ration Card scheme, rations can be obtained from any ration shop based on biometric verification. Monitoring and review will be conducted under the National Food Security Act.