How to redirect migrant potential toward sustainable urban growth

In view of the massive internal migration, mostly towards urban spaces, the pressing challenges lie in making cities equitable and inclusive for migrants. In the context of the scale of internal migration, the International Labour Organisation (2020) stated that migrant-inclusive urban governance in India is no longer optional but a policy necessity. 

Additionally, making migration-responsive cities is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 11, which envisions cities that are safe, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.  

The World Economic Forum and the International Organisation for Migration (2024) highlighted that well-managed migration can be a powerful catalyst for inclusive development across economic, social, and cultural dimensions. This includes redirecting migrant potential toward sustainable urban growth and providing viable alternatives to distress migration. 

To achieve this, a few strategic steps drawing on best examples from across India include – (i) migration data and enumeration exercise, (ii) tracking internal migrants, (iii) portability of entitlements at destination, (iv) educating migrant children, (v) participatory urban planning, (vi) climate-resilient infrastructure, and (vii) affordable housing. Let’s examine each of them. 

Migration data and enumeration exercise

One of the primary reasons behind the exclusion of migrants from social security is the absence of proper documentation and migration data. States and urban governance systems currently lack a regular, robust, and state-driven mechanism to enumerate and monitor internal migration. This gap causes a data vacuum and renders migrants largely invisible in policies. Collecting data on the social protection coverage of migrants would also help shape evidence-based policies.

In this context, Kerala presents a model. Kerala Migration Survey’s (KMS), launched in 1998 by the Centre for Development Studies (Kerala), played a significant role in strengthening the migration governance and labour inclusion policies in Kerala. The KMS has been providing disaggregated data and reliable estimates on internal and international migration, their patterns, dynamics, and socio-economic profiles. The KMS model was also proven very useful for the Kerala government for crisis management during the COVID-19 lockdown.

States tracking migrants 

Tracking the movements of seasonal migrants could be another significant step to design inclusive policies on urban governance, such as on housing, healthcare, education, sanitation, etc. A few states have been tracking migrants, which offer valuable insights. 

For instance, UNICEF (2021) highlighted that Odisha has tracked the movement of its seasonal migrants through panchayats and created village-level databases. Similarly, Chhattisgarh introduced a ‘Palayan panji’ (migration register) to track migrants and maintain migration details.

The Maharashtra government launched a website-based migration tracking system (Maha-MTS) in 2021 to track migrating women and children and to ensure their inclusion in Integrated Child Development Services. This system supports the portability of child and maternal welfare services, and maps migration corridors and seasonal patterns. It helps in making interventions more targeted. 

In 2001, the Gujarat government also implemented a Migration Card initiative to track both intra-state and inter-state movements of school-going children to ensure that their education is not disrupted if families migrate for employment.

Portability of entitlements at destination

Making basic entitlements portable, such as ration cards, healthcare, education, and social security, is similarly crucial for interstate migrants who are constantly on the move for work. For instance, the central government initiated the ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ (ONORC) scheme in 2019 for the portability of the Public Distribution Services (PDS). 

The ONORC was launched under the National Food Security Act (2013) and aimed at protecting the ‘right to food’ of migrants at destination places by providing access to food grains from any FPS (Fair Price Shop) across the country. 

In 2012, the Chhattisgarh government enacted the Chhattisgarh Food and Nutritional Security Act to ensure universal access to subsidised food and provide nutritional support to migrants, pregnant women, and lactating children. Hence, portability of entitlements is seen as a vital step for addressing food insecurity, hunger, and malnutrition among the migrant populations.

Educating migrant children

Many studies and reports have highlighted the violation of the Right to Education Act (2009) for migrant children as a persistent challenge. Every year, millions of migrant children either drop out of school or are only enrolled on paper. This constant disruption not only affects their learning but also pushes many of them toward dropping out entirely. In many cases, children are forced into the informal labour market at a young age. 

The National Education Policy (2020) recognises this challenge and calls for alternative and innovative learning centres to make education more accessible for migrant children. For instance, the Kerala government’s Roshni Project (2017), launched by the Ernakulam District Administration, has helped bring many migrant children into classrooms. Building on this success, in May 2025, the state government rolled out the Jyothi Initiative, which enrols children of migrant workers in public schools and anganwadi centres and ensures basic welfare and healthcare support along with education.

Participatory urban planning

There are several examples of participatory initiatives by urban governance in India as well. However, most of them have focused mainly on resident populations. To make Indian cities truly inclusive, local governance platforms, such as ward committees, municipal councils, and city-level consultations, need to actively engage internal migrants, informal workers, urban poor, and their community representatives in planning and decision-making processes. 

A participatory development approach would give space to the voices from the margin, reflect the lived realities of migrants, and perhaps help break away from the traditional top-down approach of governance. Such approaches would also contribute towards building trust and transparency, enhancing accountability in urban governance, and promoting social cohesion.

Climate-resilient infrastructure

The intensifying climate risks faced by migrants, particularly those in slums or at construction sites, also draw attention to the critical need for including climate-resilient infrastructure such as shaded areas and cooling zones in urban planning. 

In June 2025, the National Disaster Management Authority of India (NDMA) issued a groundbreaking advisory mandating the inclusion of informal and migrant workers within city and state-level Heat Action Plans. This marks the first time such workers have been formally recognised as a distinct ‘vulnerable category’ under national guidelines. 

The NDMA has emphasised the importance of focusing on high-risk areas, such as informal settlements and neighbourhoods with large migrant populations, when planning for climate resilience. 

In the same month, the Greater Chennai Corporation introduced India’s first air-conditioned rest stations in Anna Nagar and Thyagaraya Nagar. These stations provide cooling spaces, drinking water, charging points, and clean restrooms, offering gig-delivery workers a safe and dignified place to rest during periods of extreme heat.

Affordable housing

Most precarious migrants and migrant families are often absorbed in the slums or informal settlements in cities due to the unaffordability of houses, high rents, or limited access to formal housing schemes. It underscores the need for ensuring the ‘right to shelter’ of migrants at destination cities by providing them with affordable housing, rental homes, hostels, and safe dormitory-style housing near industrial zones.

The housing vulnerability of migrants has been recognised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, evident in schemes like Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (2020). Similarly, some states have migrant-focused housing policies and schemes, including Maharashtra State Housing Policy (2025), Rajasthan Township Policy (2024), and the ‘Apana Ghar’ initiative of the Kerala government. 

While such schemes benefit migrants directly or indirectly, they remain largely fragmented. In this context, a well-coordinated structure at the city level, skilling and upskilling, legal aid services, accessible healthcare, and awareness programmes on safe migration would be steps in the right direction. Such integrated planning will enhance migrant productivity and make cities more inclusive, democratic, and resilient. 

Post read questions

The lack of reliable migration data affects policy planning for migrants. Explain. 

How does the ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ (ONORC) scheme protect the right to food of migrants?

Discuss initiatives executed at the state-level for migrants. Evaluate if these initiatives can be scaled nationally.

If you were designing a migration-responsive city, what priority areas would you focus on first, and why?

What lessons can be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic about addressing the vulnerabilities of migrant populations?

(Dr. Kuldeepsingh Rajput is a Post-doctoral Fellow and heads the RUBAL Foundation.)

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