Haryana has most migrant workers in region, says report

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 9

Haryana hosts the largest number of migrant workers among states in this region, followed by Punjab, as per the Census-2011. Haryana has also emerged as the biggest provider of wage employment in the region over the past few years.

The total number of workers in Haryana and Punjab is 13,33,644 and 12,44,056, respectively, according to information shared by the Union Labour and Employment Ministry in the Rajya Sabha. The total number of women migrant workers in Haryana is 1,86,270. Experts say these figures will go up further once the next Census figures become available. Neeraj Sharma, Congress MLA from Faridabad district, which has the highest density of migrants in Haryana, said development and modernisation of any city was not possible without migrant workers. “Their (migrant workers’) contribution to the state, especially after the 1991 Economic Policy, has been immense,” he said.

Captains of industry also vouch for indispensability of migrant workers. Similar sentiments were echoed by an AAP leader. Earlier, Punjab used to have the highest number of migrants because of its agriculture sector, but now Haryana has overtaken it. The migrants in Himachal Pradesh and the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir were 2,96,268 and 1,22,587, respectively. —

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