URBAN INDIA Volume 34 Issue l January-June 2014 ISSN 0970-9045 Preface ................................................................................................................................ iii Editorial .............................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ x Internal Migration in India: Setting the Context S Chandrasekhar and Poornima Dore ........................................................................................... 1 Drivers and Impacts of Migration Linking Separate Worlds: Understanding the Process of Rural-urban Seasonal Migration in India Yogesh Kumar and Anamika Ajay................................................................................................. 9 Migration Study Report of Gaisilat Block of Bargarh District of Odisha Kanhu Charan Majhi, Abhaya Chandra Tripathi, Jadumani Pradhan .......................................... 33 Labour Market in Cities Job Search and Labour Market Conditions of Migrants at the Destination: The Case of Lucknow Probir Bose and Ramjee Rai ....................................................................................................... 47 Well-being of Migrant Workers: Perspectives from Daily Labour Markets in Navi Mumbai Karthikeya Naraparaju ............................................................................................................... 68 Migration and Conflict in the Mega City: A Study of Migrants in Hyderabad Triveni Goswami Vernal, Bagmi Priyadarshini, Sayed Nayeem, P. Raghavendra .......................... 87 The Socio-economic Status of Migrant Construction Workers in Bangalore and Intervention Plan to Improve Their Livelihoods Smita Premchander, V. Prameela, Shameem Banu, K.G. Meenakshi, Hosalli Manjunath, T. Prema .......................................................................... 112 Migration in the Slums of Kolkata: A Gendered Perspective Arpita Banerjee ........................................................................................................................ 134 Legal Protection for Migrant Workers Child Labour in Cotton Seed Production: A Case of Cotton Seed Farms in North Gujarat Ashok Khandelwal, Sudhir Katiyar, Madan Vaishnav ................................................................ 157 Policies to Safeguard Migrants’ Rights: A Critical Approach Debolina Kundu ....................................................................................................................... 184 Legal Primer: Child Labour Ashok Khandelwal, Sudhir Katiyar, Madan Vaishnav ................................................................ 213 Legal Primer: Brick Kiln Workers and Bonded Labour Action Aid, Hyderabad ............................................................................................................. 220 Book Reviews ‘Urbanization in India-Challenges, Opportunities and the Way Forward’ Edited by Isher Judge Ahluwalia, Ravi Kanbur and P. K. Mohanty, Published by Sage Publications, New Delhi. Chetan Vaidya .......................................................................................................................... 228 ‘Perspective in Urban Development: Issues in Infrastructure, Planning and Governance’ Edited by Ramanath Jha and Jyoti Chandiramani, Published by Capital Publishing Company, New Delhi Pragya Sharma ......................................................................................................................... 232 ‘India: The Urban Transition - A Case Study of Development Urbanism’ by Henrik Valeur, Published by Architectura and Natura, Book Sellers and Publishers, Amsterdam Mukta Naik .............................................................................................................................. 235 Workshops.......................................................................................................................240 ii PPPREFREFREFAAACECECE Given our two prominent objectives of bridging the gap between research and practice and analysing trends and prospects of urbanisation, the National Institute of Urban Affairs is constantly scanning the horizon for relevant and cutting edge knowledge that can help policymakers and practitioners address urban issues better. One such area of excitement and concern has been internal migration in India. It is a phenomenon that challenges the older dichotomous position of rural versus urban and encourages us to think of the issues of economics and human experience in the context of a rural-urban continuum; an emerging view that is helping urban experts across the world to establish stronger linkages between various socio-economic phenomena and develop holistic approaches to urban development. In this context, I am delighted to introduce to you this Special Issue of Urban India, which has been put together in partnership with the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Allied Trusts, which has worked hard to strengthen a network of dedicated grassroots organisations that work with migrants across India. In order to better understand the livelihood strategies of migrants and enable evidence-based policy formulation, a network of reputed organisations and individual researchers including Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Centre for Policy Research and National Institute of Urban Affairs have joined hands with the Tata Trust to work on a new initiative: Strengthen and Harmonize Research and Action on Migration in the Indian Context (SHRAMIC). Conceptualised under the umbrella of SHRAMIC, this Special Issue presents a macro overview of internal migration in the country and unique insights from the field on how rural people take migration decisions; how they experience the city and the unique challenges they face in the process. I am certain that this collection of articles will inspire you to think afresh about the issue of migration in Indian cities and urge you to find creative responses to some of the pressing concerns of urbanisation that our cities are facing today. Jagan Shah Director, NIUA iii EEEDITORIAL Migrant Workers and Labour Market Outcomes: Perspectives from the Field Introduction Geographic mobility has been a defining characteristic of the human race since prehistoric times. However, in a rapidly urbanizing post-globalised world, understanding the phenomenon of migration is key for us urban practitioners to imagine our future and form relevant strategies for human survival and development. The 2001 Census pegged 309 million people (out of 1.03 billion people in 2001) as migrants1 while the National Sample Survey Organisation2 estimates that 29 out of every 100 Indians are migrants. Most of these are long-term migrants for both work and family-related causes; however, there are varying estimates for short-term migration in India. The NSSO estimates the number of short-term migrants (those migrating for less than six months) to be 12.58 million. Other bodies of work e.g., Deshingkar (2006)3 and Srivastava (2005)4, which are referred to by papers in this issue, posit higher levels of short-term migration. While conflicting data estimates remain an issue for further examination, there are other serious knowledge gaps at the macro level in our understanding of the process of internal migration in India. They are: role of migration on the urbanization of poverty, differences in the push and pull factors of regional migration, role of remittance as source of income and in reduction of poverty, the nature of urban livelihoods and the ability of migrants to access them, the effectiveness of migration as a livelihood strategy, the implication of rural- urban migration on city population growth, portability of rights and benefits for the migrants especially in minority and disadvantaged groups, and legal and social rights of the migrants at the destination. The set of papers in this 1 Migration figures from the Census 2011 are still awaited 2 National Sample Survey Organisation 2007-08 3 Deshingkar, P., (2006): “Internal migration, poverty and development in Asia”, ODI Briefing Paper, No 11. October 2006. 4 Srivastava, Ravi. (2005):“India: Internal Migration and its links with Poverty and Development”, in Migration, Development and Poverty Reduction in Asia, Geneva: International Organization for Migration. iv issue are a modest attempt to provide insights from the field on the issue of migration and labour market outcomes. Through primary research at various destinations, the papers shed light on the process of migration, experiences of job search and labour market challenges faced by migrant workers. Drawn from different states and cities, the papers provide a micro-level view of the life and decisions of migrants at both the source and the destination. A key message that emerges is the need to relook at the existing policies: rural policies that could serve to create more opportunities in non-farm sector in rural areas and urban policies that can work to accommodate and integrate the migrant workers, who contribute immensely to the growth of the cities they work in. Drivers and Impacts of Migration Current approaches to understanding the process of migration often overlook not just the contribution of migrant workers to the urban economy, but also the human perspective; what are the reasons for the decisions to migrate and the conditions of the individuals who decide to migrate?