With the migrant labour returning home, Bihar has estimated that relief measures so far in the wake of Covid-19 stand at a minimum of Rs 5,000 crore, which includes direct cash transfers, transportation cost and expenditure involved in keeping returnees in isolation wards, deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said.
A large part of the cost is currently being borne by the CM relief fund and the state’s disaster relief fund, but Modi said Bihar may need to dip into regular funds depending on the severity of the situation in coming days.
The state has transferred Rs 1,000 to each of 1.6 crore ration card holders and the same amount to about 20 lakh migrants currently residing in other states. The state has been using a mobile application developed for the purpose of identifying genuine migrant labours who are in other states.
The healthcare-related costs themselves aren’t very high as existing hospitals’ infrastructure which includes doctors, paramedics and other healthcare professionals is already being maintained by the state exchequer. Similarly, the cost of PPE kits and infrared thermometers aren’t substantially high, while we have been saved from the requirement of more expensive ventilators in large numbers,” Modi said.
However, the cost of erecting isolation wards with toilets and providing electricity to run those is substantial. Besides, the migrant labour in isolation wards would have to be fed for at least 14 days.
During their stay in isolation wards, residents are being provided with a basic kit — a set of 21 items including clothes, utensils, combs and dental kits among others — costing about about Rs 1,000 per head. They are allowed to take these items when leaving these centers,” Modi said. He added that so far about 2 lakh people have been admitted to isolation wards and the number is estimated to touch up to 5 lakh in next few weeks.
Modi said the state-run Bihar Foundation in various states has been providing food to nearly a lakh migrant labour on a daily basis while another 20,000 food packets are being distributed. Additionally, the state is bearing the transportation cost of those arriving via trains, while nearly 700 buses have been pressed into service to ferry people to respective block headquarters. The state has also brought back hundreds of students studying in Kota, Rajasthan, and is running two special trains within the state.
Those who are arriving via trains are handed at least Rs 500 immediately. So the cost includes the cash plus the ticket fare,” Modi said.
Further, payments of old-age pension have been front-loaded for the March-May period. This is usually transferred to recipients at the end of the quarter, Modi said.