The Deputy Commissioner of Labour- II (DCL-II), has ordered compensation to the families of four labourers, who died in the Moulivakkam building collapse in 2014, and has directed the insurance firm, United India Insurance Co. Ltd. to submit the compensation cheques before it within 30 days of receiving the order.
M. Shanthi, DCL-II, also ordered that the insurance company pay interest of 12% per year from the date of the incident, along with the compensation amount.
Advocate Vasugi Ramanan, who appeared for the families, submitted that the deceased were earning ₹15,000 per month while working for Prime Shristi Housing Pvt Ltd, and sought adequate compensation based on that.
N. Manoharan and Muthu Kamatchi of Prime Shristi Housing argued that the labourers lost their lives after lightning struck the under- construction building due to which the structure collapsed. United India Insurance, with which the company had taken a policy, had to compensate the employees’ families.
Counsel for United India Insurance submitted that there was no agreement between the labourers and the company. Counsel argued that the labourers were not working at the time of the accident and had sought refuge inside the building from the rain.
Ms. Shanthi, in her order, said that it was established that the labourers were covered under the insurance policy at the time of the accident. Based on the age of the deceased, the DCL-II ordered compensation of ₹6.03 lakh, including cremation expenses, to the family of R. Karuppaiah, ₹8.52 lakh to the family of V. Tiruvengadam, ₹8.37 lakh to the family of Murugesan, and ₹6.77 lakh to the family of Vasu.