By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The Jaintia Hills District Administration may have to take necessary action as per the rule laid down in the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Service) Act, 1979 in view of the lesser registration of migrant workers in the district, according to the officials.
The DC has informed that very less migrant workers in the district have so far come forward to register themselves for work permit under the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Service) Act, 1979.
“So far very few migrant workers have come forward and registered themselves to avail the work permit system,” said the DC.
In this regard the district administration has issued reminder to employers and contractors of migrant workers to come forward and register themselves for implementation of the work permit system.
The Jaintia Hills region is always in the news of illegal migrant workers working in the district and creating chaos, too.
These migrant workers are mainly from neighboring Bangladesh and Nepal who are employed in the coal belts and cement factories in the region.
The district has also earned notoriety for various anti-social activities and large scale crimes.
The district administration also warned that strict action will be taken against those workers who don’t fulfill the registration criteria in the district which has huge migrant workers as the administration has given almost a month time to complete the process by the employers and contractors who were reminded recently.
It may be mentioned that the same registration of migrant workers have earned a damp squib the last time it was initiated by the district administration, a fact which is even acknowledged by the officials.
It may be mentioned also that the state government has notified the introduction of work permit system in all districts of the state, last year, to check the rising cases of influx into the state which raises its ugly head every now and then.
The state government has also instituted District Level Teams for the introduction of the work permit system – after various NGOs have demanded its implementation.
Prominent pressure groups who are demanding the implementation of the work permit system for long are the Khasi Students’ Union, FKJGP and others.
Some of these organizations have even raised their eyebrows over the findings of the last union census. An Anti-Infiltration Directorate to check illegal influx was also declared by the state government in past.
Our Jowai Correspondent adds:The All Jaintia Youth Welfare Organisation (AJYWO) has asked all migrant workers in Jaintia Hills to get themselves registered with the Labour Department provided they could produce valid documents to prove their nationality.
“The Registering office should properly verify all documents of each migrant worker working in various trades in Jaintia hills who wanto get themselves registered”, the AJYWO said.
The AJYWO has asked all migrant workers including non-tribals and foreign nationals to produce documents such as work permits, trading license and proffessional tax certificate from the concerned authorities and also police verification from the concerned police station where they have come from.
“Those who cannot produced such documents we advice them to leave Jaintia Hills district at once”, the AJYWO President, MH Dkhar said.
“We don’t want Meghalaya to become the next victim of influx problem like the state of Tripura in which the indigenous are treated as minority”, he added.