The Punjab government has reconstituted the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board (BOCW) under the Code on Social Security, 2020, weeks after admitting that a clerical error had crept into the notification through which the board was originally constituted.
The fresh notification, issued by the labour department on August 14, supersedes all earlier orders relating to the constitution of the board. The government said the latest notification was issued to consolidate the original notification of March 17, 2026, and the corrigendum issued on the same day.
The move comes amid questions over the legal status of decisions and welfare schemes of the board that were framed or implemented under the repealed Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996.
The Punjab government had earlier maintained that the Labour Welfare Board was validly constituted under the Code on Social Security, 2020, and that the reference to Section 18 of the 1996 BOCW Act in the March 17 notification was only a clerical error.
According to the government, the error was noticed immediately and rectified through a corrigendum issued the same day. The corrigendum substituted the reference to Section 18 of the 1996 Act with Section 7 of the Code on Social Security, 2020.
{{/usCountry}}According to the government, the error was noticed immediately and rectified through a corrigendum issued the same day. The corrigendum substituted the reference to Section 18 of the 1996 Act with Section 7 of the Code on Social Security, 2020.
{{/usCountry}}The latest notification now specifically invokes Section 7 of the Social Security Code and constitutes the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board under the new legal framework.
However, the notification has also sought to protect the continuity of the board’s functioning. It states that all decisions and actions taken by the board between March 17 and the issuance of the fresh notification will remain valid.
It further provides that decisions, schemes and actions taken earlier under the 1996 BOCW Act will continue to remain effective in terms of Section 164(2) of the Code on Social Security.
Experts question legality of new board
Experts have raised objections to some of the provisions guiding the newly constituted Labour Welfare Board, questioning the validity of allowing it to continue with decisions and schemes made under a repealed 1996 law.
Critics contend that the Building and Other Construction Workers Act was officially cancelled on November 21, 2025, meaning that certain paragraphs of the fresh government notification now go directly against Sections 7(6) and 164(2) of the new Social Security Code.
Patiala-based labour rights activist Vijay Walia stated that the board must function strictly in accordance with Section 7 of the Social Security Code, which specifies authorised welfare functions like death and disability benefits, pensions, group insurance, educational schemes, medical assistance, maternity benefits, and skill development for construction workers.
Walia noted that this section requires the approval of the central government before any additional welfare schemes can be created, and he warned that the government’s move to continue earlier programmes could result in the wrong diversion of funds collected through the construction tax. Specifically objecting to schemes such as the Mukh Mantri Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana, he argues that all expenditure from the BOCW fund must be strictly limited to welfare measures allowed under the new Code.
Furthermore, because the Social Security Code had already come into force before the board was even established in March 2026, Walia insists that actions taken by the board after the repeal of the 1996 Act cannot automatically be protected under temporary transition rules, and he has now requested official directions to halt all spending on unauthorised programmes that conflict with the new law.