Delhi approves ₹10 lakh health cover for construction workers

Delhi's cabinet approved a health care scheme for 270,000 construction workers, providing free services up to ₹2 lakh per worker, covering families too.

The Delhi cabinet on Tuesday approved a health care scheme to provide free and quality health care services to registered construction workers and their immediate families, officials said.

The government expects to spend approximately ₹200 crore annually on the scheme, officials said.

The Delhi Building and Construction Workers’ Health Scheme is expected to benefit around 270,000 registered construction workers along with their families, covering a total of one million people. The government expects to spend approximately ₹200 crore annually on the scheme, officials said.

Under the plan, registered construction workers and their eligible family members, including spouses, children and parents, will receive free and quality health care services through empanelled hospitals and mobile health units, chief minister Rekha Gupta said.

Each registered worker will be entitled to treatment of up to ₹2 lakh every year at empanelled hospitals, while the limit for a family will be up to ₹10 lakh, the CM said.

CM Gupta said construction workers are routinely exposed to stone-cutting dust, chemicals, excessive noise, heavy machinery, general dust and physically demanding working conditions.

As a result, they remain vulnerable to silicosis (a lung disease), respiratory ailments, skin disorders and other serious health problems, she said, adding that a comprehensive health protection scheme for this section of people had long been lacking, and the present initiative has been designed to address that gap.

According to the chief minister, digital health records of beneficiaries will be created under the scheme, and a modern beneficiary tracking system will be developed to ensure effective monitoring and transparency in service delivery. A 24x7 toll-free helpline will also be set up to assist workers.