'Approach High Court' : SC In Plea Seeking Utilization Of West Bengal CM Relief Fund For Migrant Workers

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking the Top Court's intervention for directions seeking utilising a portion of the State of West Bengal's CM Relief Fund for the well-being of stranded migrant workers.

A bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde, Justices A.S. Bopanna & Hrishikesh Roy told the petitioner to approach the Calcutta High Court for purposes of the the plea which sought equal treatment for Indian's in the State of West Bengal as residents of Delhi viz. access to and quality of healthcare services during lockdown situation.

The plea was filed by the Bengal Madrasah Education Forum on behalf of Advocate MR Shamshad. The plea further sought directions to ensure that the OPD Department of private hospitals & clinics are reopened while observing social distancing norms within the state.

"During the entire period of lockdown so far, as has been extended twice, it has been noticed that the OPD departments and private clinics in West Bengal have remained shu or barely operational despite being exempt from lockdown. This has caused and continues to cause grave difficulty to patients suffering from life threatening medical conditions apart from Covid19 such as cancer, thalessemia, diebetes, renal failuire etc.... this requires consultations and diagnostics which is being denied to the patients in West Bengal but seemingly available to patients in New Delhi" - Excerpt of Petition

Furthermore, the plea averred that the utilisation of the West Bengal CM's relief fund to pay for travel of migrant workers for fares back home would be in the best interest of the migrant workers, considering the fact that they have suffered immensely since the announcement of lockdown.  The plea in this regard contended,

"It would seem in the best interest of migrant workers to direct the State of WB to apportion a sum from the WB CM Relief Fund to pay for the migrant workers traveling back home to and from WB as as to completely avoid the situation of migrant workers walking hundreds of kilometres back home"

Apropos this, the petition drew several grounds to justify the issuance of the aforementioned directions which include the numerous instances of death of migrant workers walking back home to their native places of domicile, earmarking of the CM Relief Fund for disbursement during natural calamities as well as the residents of West Bengal being denied access to healthcare services which are not emergency conditions.

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