70k requests, 150 with one phone number: Punjab’s financial aid scheme for construction workers in controversy
A probe has been ordered after the Punjab government’s labour department received 70,000 applications for registration of construction workers. The Common Service Centres (CSCs) which forwarded these applications have now been closed.
(India Today file photo)
In the wake of lockdown due to coronavirus, the Punjab government had announced relief measures and economic assistance to construction workers. The relief measures were initiated through the labour department, which maintains records of all labourers, including those engaged in construction activities.
Months later, however, a probe has been ordered after fake registration of these construction workers surfaced in Punjab.
Following this, common service centres (CSCs) have also been shut. The CSCs are points for delivery of essential public utility services, social welfare schemes, etc in rural and remote areas of the country.
Sources privy to the probe said the decision was taken after it was alleged that the common service centres were charging Rs 200 to Rs 400 from a registration — most of which are non-construction labourers.
Investigations also revealed that the common service centre employees also sold a Rs 10 registration form for up to 300.
The suspicion grew after it was seen that registrations were being done during odd hours. As many as 70,000 labourers applied for registration in the past two months. Interestingly, 150 applications had the same mobile phone number, a labour department official said.
After these irregularities came to light, Additional Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua ordered closure of the common service centres.
There are 3.18 lakh registered construction labourers in Punjab. The state government had allocated Rs 176 crore from labour fund to help distressed labourers during the lockdown. Rs 96 crores have already been distributed through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to beneficiaries.
Punjab government collects an estimated Rs 200 crore labour welfare fund from various sources and till March 2020, it stood at Rs 800 crore.
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