Top court directs states to compensate construction workers affected by GRAP

The Supreme Court has directed the governments of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to pay compensation to construction workers affected by the closure of construction activities due to the implementation of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) measures in Delhi-NCR, even in the absence of specific court orders.

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GRAP is a set of anti-pollution measures that categorise air quality in Delhi-NCR under four stages: Stage 1 - ‘poor’ (AQI 201-300), Stage 2 - ‘very poor’ (AQI 301-400), Stage 3 - ‘severe’ (AQI 401-450) and Stage 4 - ‘severe plus’ (AQI above 450). The GRAP-4 measures, which include a ban on truck entry and a temporary halt on construction at public projects, have notably impacted construction workers.

A Bench led by Justices Abhay S Oka emphasised that compensation should be paid to the affected workers using funds collected as labour cess. “As far as 2024 and 2025 are concerned we have issued directions to the state to pay compensation. We make it clear that hereafter, whenever construction activities are required to be closed due to the implementation of GRAP measures, compensation shall be paid to the affected workers in terms of directions issued by this court dated 24th November 2021. Even if there is no specific direction of the court to pay compensation, the NCR States shall pay compensation,” the Bench stated on Friday.

During the hearing, the court was informed that Haryana had compensated 2,68,759 workers in the first phase and 2,24,881 workers in the second phase of GRAP-4. Additionally, compensation is being processed for around 95,000 workers for the January 2025 GRAP-4 period. The Delhi Government’s counsel confirmed that compensation had been paid to 93,272 workers, with the verification of the remaining registered workers still ongoing.

The Rajasthan government informed the court that compensation had been paid to 3,197 workers, while Uttar Pradesh reported disbursement of compensation to 4,88,246, 4,84,157, and 691 workers during phases 1, 2, and 3 of GRAP, respectively.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had reprimanded the Delhi Government for not providing full subsistence allowance to construction workers who were unable to work due to restrictions aimed at curbing air pollution.

The court instructed the Delhi Government to convene a meeting with workers’ unions to ensure their registration. Similar directions were also passed for Rajasthan, where Bharatpur and Alwar districts fall within the NCR, along with 14 districts in Haryana and eight districts in Uttar Pradesh, to hold workers’ union meetings and provide subsistence allowance.