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State to constitute welfare board for taxi, auto drivers
The state labour department in Mumbai is creating a welfare board for drivers of autorickshaws, taxis and other sectors, and plans to roll out eight or nine schemes related to drivers' health, education of their children, pension for their old age and assistance for fatal accidents, among other benefits. The state is expected to put a cap on monthly incomes of INR10,000 ($150) while extending benefits to drivers who fall below the poverty line. More than 10 lakh drivers are expected to benefit from the schemes.
Mumbai: The state labour department is formulating a welfare board for drivers of autorickshaws, taxis and other sectors as well as planning to roll out around eight to nine welfare schemes related to health, education of kids, pension for their old age and assistance for fatal accidents among others.
The state is expected to put a cap on the monthly income of ₹10,000 while extending the benefits to the drivers according to the definition of the below poverty line. “Apart from taxi and auto drivers, we will cover drivers from other sectors like aggregator services, goods carriages, and truck-tempo operators. Though we have not estimated the number of beneficiaries and the funds required, we are planning to cover all types of drivers, excluding owners of the vehicles. The cap of income has been kept for effective implementation of the schemes,” an official from the labour department said.
As per a rough estimate, more than 10 lakh drivers are expected to benefit from the schemes. The labour commissioner’s office has submitted a report to the state government with around eight schemes for drivers.
“The government will take the final decision about the schemes depending upon the availability of funds, considering existing schemes implemented for organised and unorganised workers. There will be a separate law enacted for the formation of the board and it is expected to be finalised in a couple of weeks,” an official from the office of the commissioner said.
The state government is also tapping the sources to fund the schemes. “Though it is in the deliberation stage, we will have to make provision for the funding of these schemes. We may either take assistance from the government in terms of budgetary allocation or pull out funding from various departments for schemes related to them. There is also an option of raising funds by imposing cess along with transport-related taxes to raise the funds,” said the labour department official.
AL Quodros, general secretary of Mumbai Taximen’s Union, said, “States like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have welfare boards and schemes for the drivers. The accident-related insurance and health coverage are most important for drivers. We expect every area to be covered in the policy.”
Taking the fatal accidents into account, the state is planning to pay serious attention to the driver’s treatment and financial assistance in case of death, they are planning scholarship schemes for their children among other welfare schemes.
