Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Nov.17: A construction workers’ organisation has petitioned the Supreme Court for ex-gratia relief plans for daily employees who may lose income as a result of the NCR states’ abrupt complete ban on the sector’s activity to combat dust pollution.
According to the petition submitted by the National Campaign Committee for Central Legislation on Building Labor, a blanket prohibition on construction activities without distinguishing and omitting those that do not contribute to air pollution is “irrational, arbitrary, and whimsical.”
It claimed that, despite having a dedicated fund of Rs 2,700 crore, the Delhi government had failed to come up with any ex-gratia relief scheme for construction employees during periods when they were forced to stop working due to “sudden absolute blanket restrictions.”
“The Government of NCT of Delhi and Government of Haryana have failed to assess and identify the pollution causing activities. It is submitted that ideally, the ban ought to be limited to activities such as demolition and excavation only. Such absolute blanket bans unnecessarily trample upon rights and livelihoods of lakhs of building workers, without contributing even an iota towards reducing air pollution,” the plea said.
According to the petition, the construction embargo imposed without adequate warning and publicity leaves workers feeling entirely unsafe and clueless, making them ideal targets for harassment by the implementing agencies.
“It is also noteworthy that when ‘odd-even scheme’ is to be implemented for vehicular traffic, the Government of NCT of Delhi issues advertisements for months in advance in order to enable the citizens to prepare their commuting plans for the said period, whereas, ban on construction sector, which employs the largest number of workers in Delhi, is imposed without any notice whatsoever,” the plea said.
“The drastic indefinite nature of such bans forces the building workers and petty contractors to disobey, since, due to lack of clarity the workers and petty contractors are unable to plan and identify their sources of income for the said periods,” it added.
