Nearly 70% of M'rashtra urban migrants are insiders: Report

, Sept 17: An analysis of data from the National Sample Survey Organisation's (NSSO) 64th round has revealed that migrants to cities like Mumbai are mainly from within

and not outside. According to the analysis, nearly 70 per cent of the migrants come from rural or urban areas, a finding which contradicts Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief

's claim that mostly people from outside Maharashtra were taking refuge in the state.

The report said for every migrant coming to Maharashtra city from other states like Bihar, UP and Odisha, there were more than three migrants who originate from within the state. Out of every 1,000 migrants in urban parts of Maharashtra, 370 come from villages within the state while 198 come from villages outside the state, said the NSSO report. This report is the latest government data available on migration trends.

Experts said the anti-migrant protests in Mumbai were proved baseless and mere political stunts by the NSSO report. According to Times of India report, the NSSO report had showed in early 2008 that nearly 68 per cent of urban migration in Maharashtra took place from within the state.

The data showed that people migrate not only because of job but other social reasons like marriage. One of the migration experts said it is a publicity stunt by political parties by blaming migrants for all problems but the latter never care for the local people's employment possibilities. Various parts of Maharashtra have not seen any improvement for a long period and that forces people to move towards urban locations for economic opportunities.

It was also learnt that job opportunities in Mumbai have been going down after the textile mills closed down and no new industries came up in their place. According to a report, employment in the manufacturing sector in Mumbai has declined by half between 1961 and 2001.

OneIndia News