According to the tender document, the estimated population of inter-State migrant labourers in Tamil Nadu is around 35 lakh.
The Tamil Nadu government is planning to undertake an inter-State migrant labour survey aimed at understanding in-migration, its changing pattern and implications for the State’s economy. The Commissionerate of Labour has floated a tender for conducting the survey.According to the tender document, the estimated population of inter-State migrant labourers in Tamil Nadu is around 35 lakh. They are working in various sectors, including construction, mining, quarries, hospitality, manufacturing, textiles, and shops and other commercial establishments.The proposed survey aims to understand migration (the process, mode of recruitment, and migration history), analyse the working and living conditions (accommodation, food, and other living expenses) of the migrants, understand their health condition (access to health check-ups and health centres), understand their social welfare (social security schemes), and provide policy suggestions.It aims to cover all 38 districts, and would focus on individual migrants who have left their family behind and come to the State, and migrants with families and children working in various sectors across Tamil Nadu. “The survey will cover a 100% enumeration of these workers and not a sample one,” as per the survey implementation plan.The target group of the study are migrant workers who have less secure jobs and are vulnerable, and would include migrants from Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and the northeast.In 2015, the Tamil Nadu Migration Survey was conducted by the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, and the Tamil Nadu government, with support from Loyola College, Chennai, and Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli, and with a sample size of 20,000. “The inter-State in-migration in Tamil Nadu seems to be an urban phenomenon as the majority of the population migrating from other States is enumerated in the urban areas,” it said.In 2016, a survey on inter-State migrants was undertaken in Chennai, Kancheepuram, and Tiruvallur districts by Loyola Institute of Social Science Training and Research of Loyola College, and Indian Social Institute, Bengaluru. The survey, with a sample size of 730, said that about 85% of the respondents were from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Assam, West Bengal, and Jharkhand.As per the ‘Report on Life and Times of Migrant Workers in Chennai Region - 2024-25’, released by the State Planning Commission, a majority of the migrant workers in Chennai region (Chengalpattu, Chennai, Kancheepuram, and Tiruvallur districts) were from the eastern and northeastern regions of the country, particularly from Bihar, Odisha, and Assam.Earlier this month, the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment informed Parliament that the number of unorganised workers, including migrant workers, registered on the eShram portal (as on August 5, 2025) in Tamil Nadu stood at 93,15,434. Published - August 20, 2025 06:12 pm IST
