After irregularities come to fore, Labour Department halts registration in Punjab

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, June 5

The Labour Department has stopped the registration of construction workers at all Common Service Centres (CSC) in the state after alarm bells were sounded over “fake registrations”. The department is said to have received over 70,000 applications in a week.

Officials were shocked when the department was flooded with applications for verification of the registration of construction workers.

There have also been allegations that employees of the Common Service Centres (CSC) were duping the poor. They (CSC) were registering people without verifying documents. People were comings forward in large numbers as they were being told that they would get Rs 3,000 monthly as aid by the government in the wake of coronavirus.

The Punjab Government had given one-time financial help of Rs 6,000 in two instalments to the registered construction workers in the state recently.

The members of the Common Service Centres went from village to village to get the forms filled and took Rs 100-300 for each online registration even as the government has fixed only Rs 10 for the same.

The matter was reported to the Labour Department after applications were uploaded on the online portal even during odd hours. Some applications were received at midnight.

In Samana block of the village, two girls — said to be CSC members — were caught red-handed by the police while they were asking for Rs 300 from labourers for filing their online forms.

The Vice Chairman of the Building & Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (BOCW) has terminated the services provided by the CSC to the Labour Department.

Jatinder Pal Singh, Deputy Secretary, BOCW, said, “We had received numerous complaints of poor being duped by employees of the Common Service Centres. Applications of poor people were filed as those of construction workers without any verified documents. We are now verifying all applications.” He added a rumour was being spread that all poor people would get Rs 3,000 per month from the government. Vijay Walia, an activist, said, “An FIR should be lodged in this scam.”

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.