As per the Times of India referring to preliminary findings of an inquiry into suspected inconsistencies in the operations of the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, over two lakh construction labourers registered with it are fraudulent. According to reports, the actual number of imposters may be substantially greater.
According to government statistics, 13,13,309 workers involved in building and other construction activities registered with the board, with 9,07,739 enrolling between 2018 and 2021.
The investigation into the records of over nine lakh labourers registered between 2018 and 2021, provided by the Delhi government’s labour department, revealed that there were 1,11,516 duplicate entries, 65,000 workers shared a common mobile number, 15,747 workers shared the same local residential address but were not related, and 4,370 workers shared the same permanent address.
In response to a complaint of corruption made by labour-related organisations such as Nirman Majdooron ki Rashtriya Abhiyan Samiti, Delhi Nirman Majdoor Sangathan, and Sewa Delhi Union, lieutenant governor VK Saxena directed the investigation on September 26. Among the complainants were two members of the board. Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar was given a week to provide the investigative report; however, he has not yet done so.
It’s interesting to note that an FIR filed in May 2018 by the Delhi government’s Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Branch alleges “bogus, false, and ghost registrations” of non-construction employees and the fraudulent disbursement of funds of Rs 900 crore to them. The Delhi government stated that if it was discovered that anyone had used falsified tactics to obtain disproportionate advantages from social initiatives, it would take stern action.
BJP slams Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, was the target of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s criticism on Friday, which focused on irregularities in “worker registration” in the nation’s capital. BJP leader Sambit Patra said that between 2018 and 2021, the Delhi government registered roughly 9 lakh labourers as construction workers, with about 2 lakh of those registrations being false, yet the government did nothing about it.
“The registries made under the AAP have been severely mischievous. There has been existing the scam to the tune of crores of rupees. The candidates are not real entities, but the proxies with the ghost registries,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said.
The registries made under the AAP have been severely mischievous. There has been existing the scam to the tune of crores of rupees. The candidates are not real entities, but the proxies with the ghost registries.
— BJP (@BJP4India) November 4, 2022
– Dr. @sambitswaraj
He further said, “The board formed under Manish Sisodia has 3,000 crore rupees as the corpus fund for this year. This hefty amount will sadly be disbursed amongst the bogus entities immersed in the scam.”
The board formed under Manish Sisodia has 3,000 crore rupees as the corpus fund for this year. This hefty amount will sadly be disbursed amongst the bogus entities immersed in the scam.
— BJP (@BJP4India) November 4, 2022
– Dr. @sambitswaraj pic.twitter.com/AremIxON1h
Generation of huge funds
Since January 2006, the board has generated a corpus of about Rs 3,000 crore, which has been collected as a labour cess charged in Delhi. This money is basically used for a variety of charitable reasons, including monthly scholarships for children of building and other construction employees, medical help, compensation for accidents and fatalities, and pensions. Arvind Kejriwal stated on Wednesday that over 10 lakh employees registered with the board will receive Rs 5,000 apiece as a result of the building activity restriction imposed owing to poor air quality.
According to Subhash Bhatnagar, coordinator of Nirman Majdooron ki Rashtriya Abhiyan Samiti, the board allowed construction workers to self-certify, which resulted in a huge number of ineligible persons registering. Bhatnagar claimed to have worked with construction employees since 1996.
He said, “Earlier, registered people used to get identity cards by the board after cross-verification from employers, which has been stopped now. We carried out a survey and found that many eligible workers were not registered despite their applications pending for a long time. Also, a large amount of financial assistance was released to unknown people, which forced us to lodge a complaint.”
The LG directed the chief secretary to ensure that the Board released the complete list of registered beneficiaries and members who received benefits under various programmes, as well as to compile the yearly budget. According to estimates, the board received over 17 lakh applications online between 2018 and 2021, with over 10 lakh receiving identity documents.
