demo pic…
– Photo: Amar Ujala
Expansion
The Delhi government is preparing to provide free bus service to registered construction workers as well. The Kejriwal government is preparing the ground for this. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has directed the Labor Department to talk to the DTC for this. If this is possible, the Delhi government will pay a fixed fee to DTC in lieu of bus passes for the workers so that the department does not suffer any financial loss. Apart from this, like lawyers, construction workers can also get the facility of group life insurance.
The Chief Minister has asked the Labor Department to assess it. Kejriwal has given these guidelines during the high-level review meeting of various schemes of the Labor Department on Wednesday. He said that the labor department should make positive and effective use of the funds so that all the registered workers can get benefits. Labor Minister Raj Kumar Anand and senior officers of the departments were present in the meeting.
Chief Minister reviewed the schemes
In the review meeting, CM Arvind Kejriwal discussed in detail the various ongoing schemes of the Labor Department and their current status. During this, he took details of the tax collected by the department and the use of resources and directed to identify and solve some issues. He said that the tax money collected by the department should be put to positive and effective use. The Chief Minister directed the departmental officers to ensure effective utilization of the funds within a week.
There are 13.4 lakh registered workers
The officials briefed the Chief Minister about the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Act 1996 and its related rules. Officials said that 13.4 lakh workers are registered with the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board. They will be renewed from the month of April. Of these, around 5.36 lakh workers are available to work in the state at any point of time. On this, CM Arvind Kejriwal said that the definition of construction worker is very broad and includes plumbers, carpenters and electricians etc. He said that about 25-30 lakh workers can be registered with the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board if the schemes are publicized properly. CM Arvind Kejriwal said that around 23.5 lakh workers are registered on the Centre’s e-Shram Portal, but they do not get any benefits there.
Instructions to extract data of pensioners
CM Kejriwal directed the department to remove the data of pensioners above 60 years of age. He said that the department needs to identify people who are 60 years or above and engaged in construction work. Such beneficiaries should be identified and the benefits of the available schemes should be given to them. The department needs to ensure that maximum number of beneficiaries are benefited from the pension scheme. During this, the CM also directed the officials to explore the possibility of providing subsidized accommodation to the workers registered with the board.