The families of four construction labourers who lost their lives in a tragic building collapse in Jewar, Noida, last month have received financial assistance of Rs 1.3 lakh each. The compensation was provided under the Construction Workers Death and Disability Assistance Scheme by the Uttar Pradesh Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Welfare Board.
Compensation Handed Over, But a Crucial Gap Revealed
Official certificates for the aid were handed to the grieving families. However, Assistant Labour Commissioner Suyash Pandey highlighted a significant systemic issue. He confirmed that none of the deceased workers were registered with the labour department's BOCW board.
"If they were enrolled, each family would have been entitled to Rs 5 lakh. Since they were unregistered, the assistance was limited to Rs 1.3 lakh," Pandey stated. This revelation underscores the critical financial and security gap faced by unregistered workers in the construction sector.
Recounting the Tragic Incident in Nagla Hukam Singh
The fatal accident occurred on November 19 in Nagla Hukam Singh village, located in Jewar's Rabupura area. The workers were on-site at an under-construction house when the third-floor slab suddenly gave way.
At the time of the collapse, the labourers were in the process of removing the shuttering from a newly cast slab. As the final supports were taken off, the lintel beam failed. This caused the entire slab to crash through the floors below, leading to the disaster.
The four workers who tragically succumbed to their injuries during treatment were identified as Nadeem, Kamil, Zeeshan, and Shakir. Seven other labourers sustained injuries in the incident but have since recovered.
The Broader Implications for Worker Welfare
This incident brings to the forefront the urgent need for universal registration of construction workers with state welfare boards. The stark difference in compensation—Rs 5 lakh for registered workers versus Rs 1.3 lakh for the unregistered—serves as a grim reminder of the protections lost when workers remain outside the formal safety net.
It highlights the ongoing challenges in the implementation of labour welfare schemes at the ground level, especially for migrant and informal sector workers who form the backbone of the construction industry in rapidly developing regions like Noida and Greater Noida.
