Construction in Delhi halted for 10 days now, workers pay the price: ‘Ban comes year after year, but there’s no support for us’

An estimated 1 lakh to 1.5 lakh workers have been affected by the ban and work across 600 construction sites has been stopped, said social activist and Executive Director of Centre for Holistic Development Sunil Kumar Aledia.

On Wednesday, the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), through its affiliated Building Workers Union, staged a protest highlighting increasing economic distress and hardships faced by construction workers, particularly during the annual “work stoppage enforced in the name of pollution control”. This comes even as the Supreme Court said several sections of society, especially labourers and daily wagers, were adversely affected due to GRAP-4 and directed state governments, where construction has been banned, to use funds collected as labour cess to provide subsistence to them.

For Pal, who is the sole earner in his family — he lives with his wife and four-year-old child in a rented room in Tikri — not even a month’s continuous work would make up for the ongoing loss. “Roz kamane-khane wale aadmi hain. Kaam nahi milne se budget bilkul hil gaya hai (I am a daily earner… The budget has been completely shaken due to lack of work),” he said.

Manoj Paswan, a raj mistri, echoed Pal. Having moved to the city in 2000 from Godda (Jharkhand), he suffered during the Covid lockdown. “At least, the government gave us Rs 5.000 each month then… But during this ban that comes year after year, there’s no support.”

The 43-year-old, who earns around Rs 700 a day, has a family of 6 — his wife, three sons and a daughter — to feed. “I’ve sent my younger sons and my daughter back home to study…” His wife, who has cervical spondylosis, lives with him in a room in Nathupur.

Both Pal and Manoj are anxious about how they will manage to pay next month’s rent.

Batti (35) and Ramlu (40), two daily labourers, are worried about meeting the medical expenses of their 20-year-old son, Ajay. “He had lost his leg on work while cutting a wooden log with an electric saw two years ago,” his mother said.

The couple makes only Rs 5,000-6,000 a month and lives at project sites to save up some. However, “the stoppage of work is troubling” them. “Bacche ke chakkar mein jyada problem hai… Kharcha paani chalane mein bhi dikkat ho raha hai. Majdoor aadmi kya karega? (Things have been worse since the ban, due to my son’s condition… It’s been difficult to manage daily expenses… What can labourers like us can do?)” Batti asked.

In a memorandum submitted to the Lieutenant Governor, Labour Commissioner, and the Labour Ministry, workers at the protest put forward demands for financial support during work stoppages, a policy for workers during pollution-control work stoppages, dedicated budget for workers’ welfare, and recovery of pending cess from the private sector.

The protest saw the participation of construction workers from various parts of Delhi. It began with a march from Sushrut Trauma Centre towards the CM’s camp office.

Ravi Rai, the State Secretary of the CPI (ML), hit out at the Delhi government for neglecting the welfare of its workers while making hollow promises in states with upcoming elections.

Vinod Kumar Singh Gautam, AICCTU’s Delhi State President, criticised the Delhi government and said the previous assistance of Rs 5,000 was grossly inadequate. Rajeev, President of the Building Workers Union, said workers suffer severe economic consequences during work stoppages.

In response to the protest, the AAP said: “AAP’s Delhi government has already directed the Chief Secretary to provide compensation to all construction workers. This will be based on minimum wages determined by the Delhi government and duration for which construction work remains suspended, ensuring protection of construction workers’ interests.”

It added, “The BJP must be held accountable and immediately disclose the compensation they plan to provide to workers who are being directly impacted by the GRAP-IV restrictions.”