For years, Kutch presented a striking contradiction. It emerged as one of Gujarat's most industrialised districts, with ports, mining, salt production, chemicals, engineering, steel, ceramics, textiles and large infrastructure projects, yet the district remained outside the full territorial coverage of the Employees' State Insurance (ESI) scheme.
That contradiction has now formally changed. A notification issued by the Ministry of Labour and Employment on 25 September 2026 appointed 1 October 2026 as the date from which contributions under Section 29 of the Code on Social Security, 2020 would become payable in the entire area of Kutch and other previously non-implemented districts of Gujarat, with benefits under Chapter IV relating to the Employees' State Insurance Corporation to be provided to covered employees.
The journey to this point, however, took several years of representations, official correspondence, a Public Interest Litigation and sustained engagement by workers' organisations and civil society.
A District Of Industries, But Without Full ESI Coverage
The ESI scheme was introduced in Gujarat in 1964 and gradually extended to industrial centres. Yet, according to the representation submitted by the ESI Adhikar Manch in October 2023, Kutch was among the districts that remained completely outside the scheme. At that time, only Vadodara, Gandhinagar and Valsad were fully notified, while several other districts had partial coverage.
The Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) is a statutory body constituted under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948, and it administers India's largest contributory social-security scheme for organised-sector workers. Under the scheme, employers contribute 3.25 per cent of wages and employees 0.75 per cent, and in return covered workers and their families receive a comprehensive package of protection: full medical care from the first day of insurable employment, and cash benefits in the event of sickness, maternity, employment injury, disablement and death. The scheme applies to establishments employing ten or more persons, with workers earning up to ₹21,000 a month eligible for coverage.
The October 2023 representation pointed to the scale and nature of industrialisation in Kutch. The district had major port-based industries around Kandla and Mundra, substantial salt production, mineral extraction and processing, and large chemical, engineering, steel, cement and infrastructure industries. The representation specifically highlighted the occupational risks associated with mining, chemical industries, shipbuilding and shipbreaking and other hazardous activities.
The issue was not merely the absence of an administrative notification. For workers, non-coverage meant that access to the institutional social-security framework associated with ESI remained unavailable.
The ESI Adhikar Manch therefore argued that the district's industrial growth had to be accompanied by corresponding social protection.
From Representation To Official Correspondence
The campaign did not begin with the court case.
On 5 October 2023, the ESI Adhikar Manch wrote to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Government of Gujarat, the Labour Commissioner, the ESIC Regional Office and members of the ESIC Standing Committee, seeking notification of the entire Kutch district.
The subsequent developments recorded in the 2025 PIL show that the ESIC Regional Office replied on 20 November 2023, stating that a proposal had already been forwarded to ESIC headquarters for extending the scheme to the remaining uncovered districts of Gujarat and for providing medical facilities there. In July 2024, the Assistant Labour Commissioner also wrote to the ESIC Regional Office regarding incorporation of Kutch under the ESI framework. A further letter was then sent by the ESI Adhikar Manch to the union Labour minister on 1 August 2024, urging that the process be expedited.
The letter to the Labour Minister made a straightforward point: Kutch was contributing significantly to the state's economy, while thousands of workers were employed in industries where accidents and occupational illnesses were real risks. It also noted that representations had already been made by unions, NGOs and social workers, but that there had been no subsequent clarity on when the district would receive coverage.
The absence of a clear outcome eventually led to the courts.
The PIL: Bringing Social Security Into The Public Domain
A Public Interest Litigation was filed before the Gujarat High Court in 2025 by Shree Kutch General Mazdoor Sangh and Hind Mazdoor Kisan Panchayat, seeking extension of ESI benefits to workers and establishments across Kutch. The petition described itself as a public-interest action concerning the safety, health and dignified well-being of workers.
The petition highlighted Kutch's rapid industrialisation and the presence of hazardous industries, ports, mining, chemical industries, SEZs and industrial estates. It also cited the large number of workers employed across the district.
The petition further argued that medical infrastructure already existed in the district, including government hospitals and primary and community health facilities, which could support implementation of the scheme. It referred to four sub-district hospitals, community health centres and primary health centres, as well as private hospitals.
Importantly, the PIL did not simply ask for a notification. It also sought a systematic process for identifying covered establishments and workers, assessing medical infrastructure and involving the petitioners in the survey process.
The High Court Asks: What Has Been Done?
On 21 November 2025, the Gujarat High Court took note of the petition and the industrial context of Kutch. The Court recorded that the district had seen rapid industrial growth, including mineral, port-based, marine chemical, engineering, infrastructure, chemical, ceramic and textile industries.
The order also recorded the petitioners' submissions concerning ports, salt production, mining, hazardous industries and the number of factories in the district. The Court noted that 944 factories were stated to be registered in Kutch, of which 857 were functional, with several industries falling into hazardous categories.
Rather than immediately deciding the matter, the Court directed all respondents to file detailed affidavits setting out the efforts made by the ESIC, the State Government and the Union Government towards expanding ESI coverage, specifically including Kutch. The matter was posted for further hearing.
That direction proved significant because it brought into the court record the administrative steps that had already been taken.
The affidavits and their annexures filed during the proceedings show that ESIC had undertaken pre-implementation surveys in parts of Kutch.
A survey of Mundra Region conducted in 2023 recorded 16,943 employees among the units surveyed, of whom 9,580 were receiving gross wages below ₹21,000. The survey noted the distance from the nearest ESIC branch office and identified existing medical facilities including the Community Health Centre at Mundra and Adani Hospital.
Another survey covering Adani Port and SEZ/Mundra Port and SEZ recorded 10,575 employees, of whom 4,898 were receiving gross wages below ₹21,000.
The Gandhidham survey recorded 13,675 employees in the units surveyed, with 10,300 receiving gross wages below ₹21,000. The survey also identified the concentration of large employers in and around Gandhidham and Anjar.
These surveys are important because they demonstrate that the question of ESI coverage in Kutch was not simply theoretical. There was already administrative information about the size and geographical concentration of the potentially covered workforce.
The ESIC material also contemplated a network including an ESIC dispensary and branch office at Bhuj, dispensaries at Mundra, an ESIC Dispensary-cum-Branch Office (DCBO) at Gandhidham, a branch office at Mundra and tie-ups with hospitals in Bhuj, Mundra and Gandhidham.
A Change In The Legal Framework
While the PIL was pending, there was an important change in the legal framework.
The respondents pointed out that the Code on Social Security, 2020 had replaced the earlier standalone legislative framework in the relevant respects. An affidavit filed on behalf of ESIC referred to the commencement of provisions of the Code from 21 November 2025 and argued that the implementation of ESI-related provisions thereafter had to be understood within the new statutory framework.
This distinction is important. The eventual notification was not issued simply as a conventional notification under the old ESI Act, 1948. It was issued under the First Schedule of the Code on Social Security, 2020.
On 25 September 2026, the Ministry of Labour and Employment issued Gazette Notification S.O. 5310(E). It specified 1 October 2026 as the date from which employer and employee contributions under Section 29 would become payable in the entire areas of 15 previously non-implemented districts, including Kutch, as well as the remaining areas of 16 partially implemented districts. It also provided for benefits under Chapter IV relating to ESIC for employees of such establishments.
Thus, after years of seeking territorial extension of ESI protection, Kutch finally entered the statewide framework.
The Gujarat High Court Closes The PIL
The notification was placed before the Gujarat High Court on 29 September 2026.
The Court recorded that the Ministry of Labour and Employment had issued the notification dated 25 September 2026 and appointed 1 October 2026 as the date from which contributions would become payable in the entire areas of the 15 non-implemented and 16 partially implemented districts. The Court also recorded the submission of ESIC and the Union Government that the Social Security Code had been implemented throughout Gujarat from 1 October 2026, extending the relevant scheme benefits.
On that basis, the Court disposed of the PIL, while observing that if any grievance remained, the petitioners could approach the Court again.
The litigation had therefore reached an important institutional milestone: the very territorial exclusion challenged in the PIL had been removed.
But Notification Is Not The End Of The Story
The developments immediately following the notification show why implementation will matter as much as notification.
A Times of India report published on 30 September 2026 quoted Gujarat's Labour and Employment Minister as saying that the ESIC scheme would be fully implemented across all 31 districts from October. The report said this could bring 8–10 lakh additional workers and their families under the social-security net across Gujarat, with the number of ESIC-registered workers in the state expected to rise from around 21.7 lakh to nearly 32 lakh. It also reported that beneficiaries would have access to cashless medical treatment, sickness benefits, maternity benefits and disability assistance.
The report also noted that Gujarat had 103 ESIS dispensaries and 11 ESIC/ESIS hospitals, while community and primary health centres had been empanelled for primary healthcare. It reported that the state government would recommend new ESIC hospitals at Mehsana, Gandhidham and Morbi to the Centre.
At the same time, a Divya Bhaskar report published on 2 October 2026 carried concerns raised by Federation of Kutch Industries Associations (FOKIA) regarding the financial burden of contributions and the availability of medical services in Kutch. The report's calculation used an estimated 1.5 lakh workers and an average monthly wage of ₹15,000. On that assumption, the combined employee and employer contribution of 4% would amount to about ₹9 crore per month — ₹1.6875 crore from employees at 0.75% and ₹7.3125 crore from employers at 3.25%.
These figures are a calculation reported in the news report, rather than an official estimate of the actual contribution liability of all Kutch establishments. Actual liability will depend on the establishments and employees covered and their applicable wages.
FOKIA's concerns also underline a central question: Will contributions be matched by accessible, quality and geographically appropriate healthcare?
That question is particularly relevant in a district as geographically large as Kutch, where workers are spread across industrial and port clusters such as Gandhidham, Mundra, Bhuj, Anjar and other parts of the district.
From Notification To Meaningful Social Security
The Kutch experience offers a broader lesson about social protection in rapidly industrialising regions.
Social security cannot remain disconnected from industrial policy. When governments actively promote ports, SEZs, manufacturing, mining, logistics and infrastructure, systems of worker protection need to expand alongside them.
The documents in this case also show that the process need not begin with litigation. Representations were made in 2023; administrative correspondence followed; surveys were undertaken; medical arrangements were explored; and only after the matter remained unresolved was the issue taken to the High Court.
The Court proceedings subsequently brought greater visibility to the administrative steps being taken. The final notification then transformed a long-standing demand into a statewide legal framework.
But the real measure of success will now be implementation on the ground: registration of eligible establishments and workers, functioning dispensaries and hospitals, accessible referral arrangements, timely settlement of claims and effective awareness among workers — particularly migrants, contractual workers and those employed in smaller industrial units.
For workers in Kutch, 1 October 2026 is therefore not simply a date in a Gazette. It marks the beginning of a new phase in which the question shifts from whether the district is covered to how effectively that coverage reaches workers and their families.
The notification has closed one chapter. The quality and accessibility of implementation will determine what the next chapter looks like.
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*Was involved in the ESI Adhikar Manch representations referred to in the article
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