The death of 21 labourers in two wall collapse accidents has come as a wake-up call for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The civic body is planning to send a proposal to the State government recommending that labourers, most of whom are migrants, be housed in rental accommodation that will be built on government land.
Last week, Deputy Mayor Siddharth Dhende tabled the proposal which, if implemented by the State, will address the security hazard to labourers and their families by housing them away from the construction sites.
“The idea is to identify vacant plots owned by the State and ask the developers to house their labour force there,” Mr. Dhende told The Hindu.
He said the funds for building the labourers’ lodgings will be granted under the Building and Other Construction Workers’ Cess Act. A whopping ₹18,000 crore is lying unutilised with the State. Mr. Dhende said until now, only ₹535 crore of this staggering fund money had been utilised.
“Nearly 80% of the developers in Pune district belong to the ‘small builder’ category, constructing on plots ranging from 5 gunthas to 20 gunthas. Invariably, these developers make no provision of basic amenities for their migrant labour force nor are any safety standards adhered to,” he said, adding of an estimated five lakh workers in the district, barely 1.25 lakh have been registered so far.
“As these workers are never registered, they never avail of the benefits of the 30-odd government schemes. Moreover, there is no arrangement for their meals or education for their children,” Mr. Dhende said. As per the proposal, the rental costs are to be borne by the developers as are the costs incurred to transport labourers from these accommodation to the construction sites.
Labour activists have welcomed the PMC proposal, while urging that the proposed accommodation be well-maintained.
However, the fulcrum in resolving the problem of the labourer’s security is the Labour Welfare Board, said Ajit Abhyankar, leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and president of the Bandhkam Kamgar Sanghatana, a city-based outfit working for the welfare of construction workers.
“The apparatus of the district Labour Welfare Board – or the lack of it – is chiefly to blame for this vicious cycle. The labour office is grossly understaffed, headed by the Labour Commissioner, who has just one labour officer and two clerks, usually on a contract basis, under him. The lack of an administrative set-up has led to poor enrolment of the unorganised labourers and as a result, they do not avail of any benefits,” Mr. Abhyankar said.
Mr. Abhyankar said a number of other factors complicate the issue of workers not registering with the labour office. “Typically, the contractor gives a group of labourers, who hail from other States, an advance. This is advantageous for the workers to meet their expenses in a new city while it ensures that they are obligated to a particular builder for the duration of their service,” he said.
In some cases, he said, lack of Aadhaar cards dissuades the worker from registering with the labour board.
He said the Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess Act, which was enacted by Parliament in 1996 to provide workers protection, has imposed a cess at the rate of 1% on the construction cost incurred by builders on every new project. Maharashtra had approved of this Act in 2007.