Delhi govt to pay ₹8,000 to 90,000 workers hit by construction ban amid GRAP-4 curbs, air quality woes

The Delhi government on Tuesday announced that it would provide ₹8,000 in financial assistance to each of the more than 90,759 registered workers impacted by the city’s construction ban, which wasenforced due to severe air pollution.

The Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board’s decision follows the Supreme Court’s latest directive, which ordered the chief secretaries of National Capital Region (NCR) states to appear before it via videoconferencing on December 5. They are required to report whether any subsistence allowance was provided to the construction workers who were unable to work due to the restrictions, reported PTI.

The construction ban was enforced on November 18 as part of the Graded Response Action Plan 4 (GRAP4) to control the declining air quality in the national capital.

₹8000 to only registered construction workers

The Delhi Construction Workers Board has decided that ₹8,000 will be disbursed to only registered construction workers under the scheme. The Board also decided that workers eligible for the subsistence allowance will be physically verified, reported PTI.

Which construction workers are eligible

The 90,759 provisional beneficiaries of the financial assistance are registered with the board based on self-certification, that they have worked as construction workers for 90 days in 2023.

The authenticity of these self-certifications is not verified at the time of registration, reported PTI. However, a bilingual link for worker verification has been made available on the web portal, allowing workers to submit their details for confirmation, stated board officials.

Delhi AQI

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to relax Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), stating that there had to be a consistent downward trend in the Air Quality Index (AQI) levels.

The court will next hear all parties on December 5. The national capital’s Air Quality Index continued to hover in the ‘poor’ category, with several areas recording an AQI of over 300, as of Tuesday, 9:50 pm.