The Madras High Court on Thursday directed the Centre to come up with a time frame within which over 25,000 Indians, stranded in foreign countries due to the COVID-19 lockdown, and wanting to return to Tamil Nadu could be flown back to the State.
Justices R. Subbiah and Krishnan Ramasamy directed Additional Solicitor General (ASG) R. Sankaranarayanan to ensure that the Union Ministries of External Affairs and Civil Aviation come up with a positive solution by next week on bringing back all stranded Indians.
The directions were issued on a public interest litigation petition filed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) through senior counsel P. Wilson who accused the State government of having imposed restrictions initially on the number of flights operated under the Vande Bharat Mission.
Even now, the State government was favouring the landing of chartered flights in the four international airports in the State though travelling in such flights cost nearly 10 times more than the ticket charges levied under the Vande Bharat Mission, he claimed.
Pointing out that a total of 47,514 Indians stranded abroad had expressed their willingness to fly down to Tamil Nadu, he said that only 19,558 had been repatriated as on June 25. The rest of the 27,956 people were sleeping on roads and parks in foreign countries, he claimed.
He also alleged that those people were not even able to get food all three times a day and were in severe distress. Denying the claim, the ASG said that Indian Embassies and High Commissions in foreign countries had been providing food and shelter to those in need.
On his part, Additional Advocate General S.R. Rajagopal said the Chief Secretary had already written a letter to the MEA for increasing the number of Vande Bharat flights to the State and sent a reminder. Now it is for the Centre to take a call on that, he added.
