Finalise welfare scheme for Army porters in 3 months, SC tells Centre

R Sedhuraman

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, July 29

The Supreme Court on Friday granted three weeks’ time to the Centre for finalising a welfare scheme for the porters who did casual work for the Army by carrying its supplies to high altitude areas along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur told Additional Solicitor General PS Patwalia that porters provided a vital link to the Army’s supply chain, besides carrying sick and injured soldiers. “There are at the beck and call of the Army doing odd jobs in hostile and inaccessible places,” the Bench remarked and asked if there was a proposal to regularise those who had been working for 10 years or more.

The ASG said the government was working on the scheme without treating the case as adversarial litigation. Some of the porters have approached the apex court seeking regularisation of their service. At an earlier hearing, the court had said there was no legal provision for issuing such a directive. Nevertheless, it had asked the government to look for ways to help them.

In response to that, the government today submitted the draft proposal, indicating that porters would not be absorbed in the Army mainly for security reasons, but could be given pay and allowances, besides education for their children and entitlement to supplies at Army canteens and medical services.

The apex court has also asked the government to help the porters who suffered disability and the families of those who died while working for the Army. 

The Bench slated the next hearing for August 22.