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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | 70% migrants to Mumbai are from Maharashtra -Madhavi Rajadhyaksha

70% migrants to Mumbai are from Maharashtra -Madhavi Rajadhyaksha

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published Published on Sep 17, 2012   modified Modified on Sep 17, 2012
-The Times of India

MUMBAI: Contrary to MNS chief Raj Thackeray's ongoing tirade, migrants to cities like Mumbai are not 'outsiders' from other states. Nearly 70% of them come from rural or urban areas within Maharashtra itself, reveals an analysis of data from the National Sample Survey Organization's (NSSO) 64th round.

For every migrant coming to a city in Maharashtra from the urban areas of other states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh or Orissa, there are over three migrants who have come from within the state. The reality of Maharashtrian migrants holds true for those moving from rural areas, as well.

Out of every 1,000 migrants in urban Maharashtra, 370 come from villages within the state, while 198 migrants come from villages outside the state's borders, reveals the NSSO, the most recent government resource available for migration data.

Demographic experts say anti-migrant protests in Mumbai then are without basis and mere politicking.

TOI, in a series of reports, has highlighted this demographic trend. For instance, on February 17, 2008, we cited provisional figures of the NSSO to say that 67.6% of urban migration in Maharashtra was from within the state itself. On November 5, 2008, we reported data from TISS that 2.4 lakh people had migrated to Mumbai from other areas of the state. Similarly, the next year, on November 8, TOI carried numbers from a UNDP-BMC report that pegged intra-state migration at 37.4%.

Data also highlights that people migrate for various reasons, not only in pursuit of jobs as is being portrayed. For instance, over 538 per 1,000 migrants in urban Maharashtra, particularly women, have moved residence due to marriage. "It is easy for politicians to blame migrants for all ills and remain in the limelight. But it is worth questioning how much employment have parties created for local migrants," said migration expert D P Singh from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, explaining that Mumbai received a chunk of migrants from nearby Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in the 1960s. "The distress and lack of development in Marathwada over the years meant many come from there as well."

However, employment opportunities in Mumbai have been shrinking substantially following the closure of textile mills and lack of new industries. Census data for instance, revealed that employment in the manufacturing sector in Mumbai had declined from 41% in 1961 to 20% in 2001. "Construction is one area which still attracts workers," explains Singh. While Census 2011 is still to release its findings on migration, demographers say the declining population growth in Mumbai indicates that migration too is stabilizing if not dropping.

The issue of Bihari migrants may indeed be exaggerated. Amrita Datta from the Institute of Human Development, Delhi which closely studies the labour market points out that Mumbai is not the most favoured destination for migrant workers from Bihar. "The National Capital Region of Delhi is the most popular destination with 25.4% of the total migrants going there, followed by Punjab with 21.2%." Maharashtra comes third with about 8.5% migrants.

Experts point out that this could be attributed to the rapidly spreading urbanization across India which leads to what is called short-distance migration. This means urban projects create informal work opportunities for people in towns and cities near their homes which could explain why migrants from within the state outnumber those from other states.

Professor R B Bhagat, head of migration and urban studies at the International Institute for Population Studies, Govandi, believes there is need for a national migration survey so that more recent data is available for policy-making, as periodic NSSO data could be disputed as being old. He points out that migrants who have settled in a state for long periods are counted in subsequent censuses as locals, which indicates the difficulty in counts of migrant populations. Datta reiterated that the constitution mandates freedom of mobility to every citizen in any part of the country and believes that migrant rights ought to be "an essential part of the inclusive growth paradigm".

The Times of India, 17 September, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/70-migrants-to-Mumbai-are-from-Maharashtra/articleshow/16428301.cms


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