Lok Sabha Question No. 1646 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-16
Subject: Assistance to Deceased Migrant Workers Abroad
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Pradyut Bordoloi, Dean Kuriakose

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1646

TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.12.2022

## ASSISTANCE TO DECEASED MIGRANT WORKERS ABROAD

1646. SHRI PRADYUT BORDOLOI:

ADV. DEAN KURIAKOSE:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken note of the exploitation and labour violation faced by Indian workers working in gulf countries;
- (b)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  number  of  migrant  workers  from each State who died in Gulf countries during the last three years, country-wise;
- (c) the details of process for bringing the dead bodies back to the country in case of accidental death of labourers;
- (d) the details of grievances registered by the Indian citizens on Government portal-Madad along with the number of grievances resolved and pending during the last three years;
- (e)  whether  the  Government  has  put  in  place  any  mechanism  to  provide
- financial assistance to the families of deceased workers; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI V. MURALEEDHARAN)

- (a) & (b) Complaints  are  received  from  Indian  emigrants  in  ECR  countries, including GCC countries, from time to time, regarding violation of contractual

terms,  adverse  working  conditions,  wage  related  issues,  exploitation  by foreign employers and compensation of death claims etc. On receipt of such complaints, concerned Indian Missions/Posts abroad take up the matter with concerned Foreign Employer (FE) / host Government.

As per the information available with the Ministry, State-wise detailed list of  Indians  who  died  in  GCC  countries  (including  workers)  during  last  three years is enclosed as Annexure I.

- (c) The Government of India attaches highest priority to address and resolve the  issues  pertaining  to  transportation  of  mortal  remains  of  Indian  nationals who die abroad. Our Missions/ Posts liaise with the foreign officials concerned to expedite procedures for repatriation of mortal remains to India and extend all possible assistance to the family of the deceased. Generally, the transportation  of  mortal  remains  is  quicker  in  cases  of  natural  deaths  in comparison to the cases of unnatural deaths, due to local procedures involved for investigating the cause of death in case of unnatural death.

The process of transportation of mortal remains to India involves various steps,  most  of  which  are  to  be  undertaken  by  the  local  authorities  in  the country concerned. The following are the steps involved in transportation  of mortal remains from a foreign country:

- (i) Medical report / death certificate issued from the hospital concerned;
- (ii) Police report (with English translation, if report is in some other language), in case of accidental or unnatural death;

(iii) Consent letter from next of kin of the deceased for local cremation/burial/transportation of mortal remains;

(iv)  Clearance  and  arrangements  for  embalming  of  mortal  remains  from  the authorities concerned in the foreign country; (v)  Clearance from local immigration/ customs department;

(vi) Clearance from Indian customs authorities.

These procedures differ from country to country and therefore there is no fixed time frame for eventual transportation of mortal remains.

(d) As per data available on Madad portal, 26102 grievances were registered by Indian citizens on Madad portal during the last three years(till 30 November 2022). During this period 28624 grievances were resolved (this includes some of  the  grievances  registered  in  previous  years)  whereas  866  grievances  are pending at various stages of redressal.

(e) & (f) Missions and Posts abroad provide all necessary assistance including  need  based  assistance  through  ICWF  like  transportation  of  mortal remains, on means-tested basis, facilitating early settlement of death compensation from local authorities/companies and facilitating early settlement of insurance claims.

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ANNEXURE I

## State-wise number of Indian nationals who died in GCC countries(during last three years)

|   SI. No. | State/UT          | Kuwait   | UAE   | Bahrain   | Saudi Arabia   | Oman   |   Qatar |
|-----------|-------------------|----------|-------|-----------|----------------|--------|---------|
|         1 | Arunachal Pradesh | -        | -     | -         | -              | 1      |       0 |
|         2 | Andhra Pradesh    | 787      | 60    | 73        | 137            | 135    |      81 |
|         3 | Assam             | 5        | -     | -         | 23             | 2      |       3 |
|         4 | Bihar             | 54       | 68    | 14        | 368            | 69     |      50 |
|         5 | Chandigarh        | -        | -     | -         | -              | 2      |       0 |
|         6 | Chhattisgarh      | 0        | -     | -         | 3              | 2      |       0 |
|         7 | Daman & Diu       | -        | -     | -         | 1              | -      |       0 |
|         8 | Delhi             | 10       | 13    | 8         | 28             | 14     |       1 |
|         9 | Goa               | 69       | 7     | 12        | 12             | 13     |       9 |
|        10 | Gujarat           | 45       | 20    | 20        | 39             | 71     |      12 |
|        11 | Haryana           | 3        | 8     | 1         | 12             | 1      |       0 |
|        12 | Himachal Pradesh  | 6        | 3     | 2         | 10             | 5      |       5 |
|        13 | Jammu & Kashmir   | 16       | 6     | 1         | 26             | 2      |       4 |
|        14 | Jharkhand         | 10       | 9     | -         | 34             | 12     |       4 |
|        15 | Karnataka         | 95       | 42    | 40        | 215            | 105    |      46 |
|        16 | Kerala            | 503      | 451   | 304       | 1080           | 629    |     439 |
|        17 | Madhya Pradesh    | 16       | 2     | -         | 19             | 11     |       2 |
|        18 | Maharashtra       | 226      | 78    | 56        | 207            | 179    |      70 |
|        19 | Manipur           | -        | -     | -         | 1              | -      |       0 |
|        20 | Mizoram           | -        | 1     | -         | 0              | -      |       0 |
|        21 | Odisha            | 11       | 9     | 5         | 23             | 14     |       4 |
|        22 | Puducherry        | 6        | 3     | 2         | 6              | -      |       2 |
|        23 | Punjab            | 103      | 181   | 68        | 117            | 103    |      66 |
|        24 | Rajasthan         | 231      | 55    | 11        | 212            | 91     |      40 |
|        25 | Tamil Nadu        | 417      | 185   | 90        | 638            | 225    |     130 |
|        26 | Telangana         | 58       | 43    | 45        | 446            | 66     |      45 |
|        27 | Tripura           | 11       | 1     | -         | 4              | 1      |       0 |
|        28 | Uttar Pradesh     | 242      | 143   | 51        | 1299           | 157    |      99 |
|        29 | Uttarakhand       | 3        | 3     | 2         | 20             | 5      |       0 |
|        30 | West Bengal       | 57       | 36    | 8         | 136            | 39     |      29 |

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