The Delhi High Court on Friday asked the AAP government to see if registration of workers with the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare (BOCWW) Board can be verified online as the applications were made online.
A Bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar also said that there should be “no laxity” in registration of workers with the Board through which they could get ex-gratia of ₹5,000 during the pandemic. It suggested that the registration or renewal of the workers to the Board, which comes under Delhi government, could be done online to minimise human-to-human contact.
The workers, who are applying for registration/renewal, are required to provide employment certificate for at least 90 days in the year preceding the application for registration/renewal.
The construction workers, by their very nature, are nomadic, and they move from site to site for their work, and also move their residences to a place close to their construction site, the court had said.
“Even if they produce any one or more of the first 15 documents enlisted, it is likely that they would not correctly reflect their present address, looking to their financial background, and the nature of their avocation and the lives that they lead,” the court had remarked.
Delhi government standing counsel Sanjoy Ghose said that even the 90-day employment certificate issued by the Registered Construction Workers Union is treated as sufficient for the purpose of the present address.
“We reiterate that the applications should not be rejected only on account of the bank particulars not disclosing the facility of online banking. However, the applicant should be made aware that he would not be able to receive the funds, unless he provides the MICR/IFSC details,” the High Court had added.
It had also directed the Board to ensure that summary of the reasons for rejection should be provided in each case where the application has been returned/ rejected.