Rs 220cr DALKHAI initiative aims to curb seasonal migration

Bhubaneswar: To check distress migration, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday announced a new initiative, DALKHAI (Dignified Access to Livelihood, Knowledge, Health and Allied Infrastructure), named after a popular folk dance of western Odisha."I propose a new initiative, ‘DALKHAI', to address the underlying causes of distress migration by ensuring sustainable livelihoods through inter- and intra-departmental coordination," Majhi said in his budget speech and earmarked Rs 220 crore for the scheme.
In Oct 2024, govt formed a special task force to check distress migration in search of work to other states. In particular, a few districts of western Odisha report distress (seasonal) migration every year as the brick-making workforce moves to various towns in south India for six months from Oct-Nov to April-May. They usually face tortuous and exploitative conditions at their workplaces. In addition, the migrants fall into a debt trap as they receive advances from labour agents.Umi Daniel, a migration researcher, said the govt's intent is very positive in so far as addressing distress and debt migration is concerned. "Using the earmarked funds, the govt may focus on further studies to understand the issues of migrants, as well as introduce measures that can help end the plight of their distressed families. The task force is now conducting a survey," Daniel said.He added that by the time the migrants return from their workplaces in May or June, the funds could be used for their welfare. "Mostly, those in a continued debt trap may be relieved in some way," he said.According to sources, over 3-5 lakh labourers migrate to different states every year. Govt informed the assembly in July 2024 that 228 migrant workers died at their workplaces between 2019 and 2024.Besides the DALKHAI scheme, the budget made provision for a revolving fund of Rs 5,000 crore to further ensure timely payments and seamless agricultural procurement operations, thus enabling prompt disbursal to farmers and strengthening confidence in the system.