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Haryana: Vij flags ₹1,500-crore scam in own dept, seeks probe
Sharing details, Vij said that he recently chaired a meeting of the Haryana Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, during which irregularities were found not only in the appointment of Board members but also in the distribution of benefits under welfare schemes meant for construction workers.
Haryana labour minister Anil Vij on Monday urged chief minister Nayab Singh Saini to order an investigation into an alleged scam amounting to ₹1,500 crore after anomalies pertaining to the “fake registration of construction workers” eyeing benefits of various government schemes have come to the fore.
Sharing details, Vij said that he recently chaired a meeting of the Haryana Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, during which irregularities were found not only in the appointment of Board members but also in the distribution of benefits under welfare schemes meant for construction workers.
Following this, he ordered an immediate inquiry.
The minister said that the initial investigations were conducted in Hisar, Kaithal, Jind, Sirsa, Faridabad and Bhiwani districts, where large-scale irregularities were detected.
“Subsequently, instructions were issued to deputy commissioners of all districts to constitute district-level committees comprising a labour department officer along with three other officers. These committees are carrying out physical verification of online work slips issued between August 2023 and March 2025. The verification process began around four months ago, and 100% verification has been completed in 13 districts so far,” he added.
Vij further informed that in the 13 districts—Karnal, Rewari, Nuh (Mewat), Mahendragarh, Gurugram, Jhajjar, Palwal, Panipat, Rohtak, Sonepat, Panchkula, Sirsa and Kaithal—a total of 5,99,758 work slips were issued.
Of these, he said that only 53,249 were found to be valid, while 5,46,509 were declared invalid.
Similarly, out of 2,21,517 labour registrations, only 14,240 workers were found eligible after verification, whereas 1,93,756 registrations were found to be invalid, he added.
Vij said it has become clear that in many places entire villages were fraudulently registered and work slips were generated so that ineligible persons could avail benefits of government schemes.
“On an average, a worker receives benefits worth around ₹2.5 lakh under various schemes, which could result in a massive financial loss to the government. Those who are not eligible are availing benefits. This is outright loot, causing the government a financial loss running into hundreds of crores,” the minister said.
He further said that the verification committees are examining all aspects, including authenticity of workplaces, actual participation in construction activities, employer details, local inquiries and field inspections.
During the verification period, RTS timelines were stopped, SARAL centres were instructed not to accept new applications, and necessary information was issued to all grievance redressal platforms including CM Window, Jan Samvad, CPGRAMS, HHRC, HRTSC etc.
Vij however clarified that already approved pension schemes have not been stopped, while benefits under death, accident and funeral assistance schemes are being released on priority.
He added that the Haryana government implements several welfare schemes for construction workers, including maternity and paternity benefits, education assistance, scholarships, reimbursement for technical education, pensions, marriage assistance, medical aid, housing loans and accident compensation, aimed at empowering genuine workers.
These benefits should reach only those workers who are duly registered after verification of at least 90 days of work, he said, adding that there are various benefits provided to registered construction workers in Haryana.
