Delhi govt’s camps for registration of construction workers off to a slow start

The special drive comes after the Delhi High Court (HC) on May 2 directed the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board to take steps to renew the membership of all the workers

The Delhi government’s special camps to help construction workers register for a state-run welfare fund kicked off to a slow start on Monday even as several assembly constituencies were yet to start the drive.

In Najafgarh, a camp in a Delhi government school saw several women stand in line, most of whom were related to the concerned applicant. (HT Photo)

The camps that began from 10am on Monday will continue till September 12. Day one saw a lot of family members turn up at the centres on behalf of the construction workers. The office of labour minister Gopal Rai told HT that the government will focus on areas such as Burari, Karawal Nagar, Badarpur, Najafgarh, Matiala, Babarpur and so on as most construction workers stay there.

The special drive comes after the Delhi High Court (HC) on May 2 directed the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, which is under the aegis of the labour department of the Delhi government, to take steps to renew the membership of all the workers, in a bid to cushion their lockdown-induced loss of earnings. The court had observed that over 500,000 construction workers in Delhi, who fell off the safety net under the watch of the city’s welfare board, cannot be deprived of benefits just because they were unable to renew their annual registration.

At 12pm in Matiala’s Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya (SKV), a dozen people gathered around the counter. After an hour, only three of the 12 were found eligible. “There was one paan seller, others were mostly street vendors and hawkers. We explained to them that this drive is only for construction workers and to be eligible one would need a certificate from the construction company or builder where the person is employed,” said Gulab Singh, the MLA from Matiala constituency.

Sudesh Rai, a worker who was registered at the Matiala camp, said he works in a housing project of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). “Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers brought here me. Now I am told I can avail of nearly 18 different assistance schemes including ₹51,000 for the wedding of my daughter and ₹2 lakh to my family if I die on duty,” he said.

Construction workers, including plumbers and electricians employed in the construction sector, painters, tile workers and security guards aged between 18 and 60, are eligible for registration under the scheme. They must possess a photo identity card, a bank account number, a residential proof for Delhi and other documents to prove that they have worked in the construction sector for at least 90 days in the 12 months prior to the registration, said an official in charge of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led government’s initiative.

In Najafgarh, a camp in another Delhi government school saw several women stand in line, most of whom were related to the concerned applicant. The camps will function five days a week—from Monday to Friday between 10 am and 4 pm.

“A tent has been set up for people to sit comfortably and wait for their turn, keeping in mind social distancing norms. A facility for drinking water has also been made available at the centre. Due to Covid-19, a lot of workers are yet to return from their home states, because of which the numbers continue to be low. Such camps will have to be set up at regular intervals to help more construction workers register,” said Kailash Gahlot, the state transport minister and MLA from Najafgarh.

When asked about the number of people who have been registered so far, the labour minister’s office said, “It has just been over three hours since these camps opened. We have not yet compiled the number of people who have turned up across the 70 assembly constituencies. But the aim is to spread the word to as many people as possible so that in the next few days, the number of applicants increases. The main role in this is that of the MLAs.”

But the story was very different in the constituencies with legislators from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Karawal Nagar MLA and senior BJP leader Mohan Singh Bisht said no such camp was set up in his constituency as on Monday. “I have not been informed about this drive by the Delhi government. There has been absolutely no communication. We shall continue doing whatever is possible at our own level,” he said.

In Badarpur, another area with a large number of construction workers, the scenario seemed bleak. Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, the area MLA and leader of opposition in the Delhi assembly, said he got to know about the government’s initiative through the full-page newspaper advertisements on Monday.

“The advertisement mentions most of the schools through acronyms only. How will a humble worker understand the location of the camp? In Karawal Nagar, the camp’s location has been given as GGSSx-1. There are 18 schools in my constituencies and so I sent my workers to each school in order to find out where the camp has been set up. But we could not find any till now,” Bidhuri said.

He suggested that the government send an official communication to him as the leader of opposition so that all the BJP MLAs are informed about the drive and necessary steps are taken.

Every state has a welfare board which runs an array of beneficial schemes, funded by the cess collected from projects under the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996.

In Delhi, the board started disbursing ₹5,000 a month during the nationwide lockdown—which has been imposed since the end of March in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and triggered a mass job loss in the realty sector—to the bank accounts of the enrolled workers.