Lockdown: Maharashtra doles out Rs 2,000 for construction workers

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, April 18

The Maharashtra government has announced that it will provide financial assistance to the tune of Rs 2,000 to all registered construction workers in the state during the lockdown.

”The one-time monetary assistance for construction workers will be credited directly to their bank accounts through direct benefit transfer,” Labour Minister Dilip Walse-Patil said in a statement here.

According to the labour department more than 12 lakh active construction workers would benefit from the cash transfer. Though there are more than 22 lakh people who are registered as construction workers with the Maharashtra Government, just over 12 lakh of them are active. In order to be considered active, the construction workers are required to renew their membership with the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (BOCWWB).

“To contain the spread of Covid-19 epidemic, lockdown is being impose in the state. This has led to shutting down of all the construction works across Maharashtra. Consequently, construction workers have no work. They have to stay at home and are also facing a financial crisis as they have no source of income,” the labour department’s statement said.

The payout is expected to cost the state Rs 250 crore, according to the labour department.

Labour activists in Mumbai say only a fraction of the construction workers in the state are registered with the board. Most of the people engaged in construction work in Maharashtra are brought in from states like Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and from within the state on short-term contracts by labour contractors.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra has decided to allow construction work in the state including in Mumbai and Pune with permission from local ward officials.