Building workers: 20 of 877 Gujarat deaths compensated since 2008; Rs 150 crore of Rs 1,900 crore spent on welfare

By A Representative
Even as Gujarat government has begun paying, following a Supreme Court order, Rs 10 lakh compensation each for the death of 170 workers because of suffocation in manholes, thanks to a long-drawn-out battle by people's organizations, facts have come to light suggesting that it is showing high degree of indifference in this regard for the accidental death of 877 construction workers.
A Bandkam Majur Sangh (BMS)-sponsored seminar, in which construction workers' representatives, government officials, and executives from top building construction companies, such as L&T and IL&FS, has been told that for just 20 out of 877 deaths since 2008 compensation has been paid.
Quoting from a Right to Information (RTI) reply, BMS' Vipul Pandya told the seminar, "According to the rule, the state government should pay Rs 3 lakh as compensation to those who are are registered as workers with the State Construction Workers' Welfare Board."
The workers were not being paid compensation, it was revealed, despite the fact that the welfare board has a huge Rs 1,900 crore at its disposal, collected at the rate of Rs 30 per square metre from the construction sector for the welfare of workers. Collected since 2006, so far the state government, ironically, has so far spent a paltry Rs 150 crore for the workers' welfare.
If health facilities are claimed to have been offered to construction workers for free, some of the 27 schemes at the disposal of the welfare board have simply not taken off. For instance, Some one of the schemes is Rs 1,000 pension to workers after 60 years of age, for which they must be found to have registered continuously for the last three years. A senior official at the seminar admitted, "Not one application has come..."

Total number of deaths of construction workers
since 2008: 877

"As for those who are are not registered, they should be paid Rs 1.5 lakh", Pandya said. Pointing out that only 30% of the construction workers out of 12 lakh are registered, Pandya said, "None of the those who died and aren't registered have been paid any compensation." According to the rule, each worker must renew registration every year, otherwise her or his registration would lapse."
Identifying "major problems" while registering construction workers, majority of whom are tribal migrants from Gujarat as well as places as far away as Bihar and West Bengal, senior board official IG Soni triggered hornet's nest, saying that "fake registration" has been taking place to take advantage of its 27 welfare schemes, one reason why one has to be "extra-careful."
Giving the example of registration of migrants who work in Surat's diamond industry, Soni said, "We were in the process of registering about 1,500 of them. And suddenly we found that there were 150 Rohingiyas among them, hence stopped registration." Asked how did he come to know that they were Rohingiyas, Soni said, "They didn't know either Gujarati or Hindi. They did not have any aadhaar card either."
Asked whether he thought that some of those present in the seminar but did not have aadhaar could be called Rohingiyas, a worked up Soni said, "Did I say that? I am not accusing anyone here." Amidst uproar, a migrant workers' representative called Soni's statement "highly objectionable and directed against a particular community." In Gujarat -- unlike other states -- aadhaar is a must for registration with the board.

Govt official Soni

According to a Government of India estimate, there are around 40,000 Rohingiyas in India. Victims of ethnic violence in Burma, Rohingiyas are mostly Muslims. Majority of them, living in sub-human conditions, have crossed over from Burma and reached Bangladesh by boat. Some of them reached India. Victims of humanitarian crisis, the Government of India wants them to be deported to Bangladesh.
Giving more details, Pandya said, last year 80 persons died while working on construction sites. Majority of them, 28, were from Ahmedabad. "These construction workers are underpaid. Even those working in Ahmedabad metro work for 12 to 15 hours to earn full day's wage, which is a safety issue. Most of them die because of falling from a height."
Pointing out that these migrants have "no space to live, no toilets, no water, no creche where women workers can put their children while going on work", Pandya said, "About 40% of those who die are tribal migrants." A top consultant for the metro, FM Dahodwala, responsible for safety issues, admitted, the government's special purpose vehicle set up for constructing metro in Ahmedabad, MEGA, has, in all, 1,500 workers, but of these "only 10% are registered with the welfare board."

Comments

When democracy becomes a performance: The Tibetan exile experience

By Tseten Lhundup* I was born in Bylakuppe, one of the largest Tibetan settlements in southern India. From childhood, I grew up in simple barracks, along muddy roads, and in fields with limited resources. Over the years, I have watched our democratic system slowly erode. Observing the recent budget session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, these “democratic procedures” appear grand and orderly on the surface, yet in reality they amount to little more than empty formalities. The parliamentarians seem largely disconnected from the everyday struggles faced by ordinary exiled Tibetans like us.

Study links sanctions to 500,000 deaths annually leading to rise in global backlash

By Bharat Dogra International opinion is increasingly turning against the expanding burden of sanctions imposed on a growing number of countries. These measures are contributing to humanitarian crises, intensifying domestic discord, and heightening international tensions, thereby increasing the risks of conflicts and wars.

Dhurandhar: The Revenge — Blurring the line between fiction and political narrative

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan* "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" does not wait to be remembered; it arrives almost on the heels of its predecessor, released on March 19, 2026, just months after the first film’s December 2025 debut. The speed of its arrival feels less like creative urgency and more like calculated timing—cinema responding not to storytelling rhythm but to the emotional climate of its audience. Director Aditya Dhar, along with actor Yami Gautam, appears acutely aware of this moment and how to harness it.

BJP accounts for 99% of political donations in Gujarat: Corporate giants dominate

By Jag Jivan An analysis of the official data on donations received by national parties from Gujarat during the Financial Year 2024-25 reveals a staggering concentration of funding, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accounting for nearly the entirety of the contributions. The data, compiled in a document titled "National Parties donations received from Gujarat during FY-2024-25," lists thousands of transactions, painting a detailed picture of the financial backing for political parties from one of India’s most industrially significant states.

Alarming decline in India's repair culture threatens circular economy goals: Study

By Jag Jivan A comprehensive new study by environmental research and advocacy organisation Toxics Link has painted a worrying picture of India's fading repair culture, warning that the trend towards replacement over repair is accelerating the country's already critical e-waste crisis.

Beyond the island: Top mythologist reorients the geography of the Ramayana

By Jag Jivan In a compelling new analysis that challenges conventional geographical assumptions about the ancient epic, writer and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik has traced the roots of the Ramayana to the forests and river systems of Central and Eastern India, rather than the peninsular south or the modern island nation of Sri Lanka.

Captains extraordinaire: Ranking cricket’s most influential skippers

By Harsh Thakor* Ranking the greatest cricket captains is a subjective exercise, often sparking passionate debate among fans. The following list is not merely a tally of wins and losses; it is an assessment of leadership’s deeper impact. My criteria fuse a captain’s playing record with their tactical skill, placing the highest consideration on their ability to reshape a team’s fortunes and inspire those around them. A captain who inherited a dominant empire is judged differently from one who resurrected a nation’s cricket from the doldrums. With that in mind, here is my perspective on the finest leaders the game has ever seen.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

‘No merit’ in Chakraborty’s claims: Personal ethics talk sans details raises questions

By Jag Jivan A recent opinion piece published in The Quint by Subhash Chandra Garg has raised questions over the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Atanu Chakraborty from HDFC Bank , with Garg stating that the exit “raises doubts about his own ‘ethics’.” Garg, currently Chief Policy Advisor at Subhanjali and former Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India, writes that the Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ) appears to find no substance in Chakraborty’s claims, noting, “It is clear the RBI sees no merit in Atanu Chakraborty’s wild and vague assertions.”

Search This Blog