Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini has taken decisive action by ordering a high-level investigation into a massive alleged financial scam involving labour welfare funds. The probe, announced on Thursday, targets irregularities in the Haryana Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, which state Labour Minister Anil Vij claims amounts to a staggering Rs 1,500 crore.
The Core Allegations and Immediate Government Response
The scandal revolves around the alleged generation of fake 'work slips' and fraudulent labour registrations to siphon off government welfare money. An internal inquiry by the labour department reportedly uncovered shocking details. Out of 2.21 lakh registrations with the welfare board, only about 14,000 were found to be genuine. This implies that a massive 1.93 lakh registrations were allegedly fake, created to illegally claim benefits.
In response, CM Saini has constituted a three-member committee to conduct a thorough investigation. The team is headed by Principal Secretary (Agriculture and Farmers Welfare) Pankaj Aggarwal and includes IAS officer Rajiv Rattan and IPS officer Pankaj Nain. The committee's terms of reference will be issued shortly, and it has been directed to submit its findings to the government within one month.
Shocking Scale of Irregularities Across Districts
Labour Minister Anil Vij provided alarming data that prompted the probe. He stated that initial investigations in districts like Hisar, Kaithal, Jind, Sirsa, Faridabad, and Bhiwani revealed large-scale fraud. Following these findings, all district deputy commissioners were instructed to form verification committees.
These district-level committees, comprising a labour department officer and three others, are now physically verifying online work slips issued between August 2023 and March 2025. The minister revealed that in 13 specific districts, the scale of the scam became clear.
In the districts of Karnal, Rewari, Nuh (Mewat), Mahendragarh, Gurugram, Jhajjar, Palwal, Panipat, Rohtak, Sonipat, Panchkula, Sirsa, and Kaithal, a total of 5,99,758 work slips were issued. The verification process found that only 53,249 of these were valid. A shocking 5,46,509 work slips were declared invalid, highlighting the systemic nature of the alleged irregularities.
Financial Impact and Promised Action
Minister Vij described the scam as a "loot of government schemes" that inflicted financial losses running into hundreds of crores of rupees. He alleged that fake registrations were orchestrated "village after village," draining funds meant for genuine construction workers. The minister has assured that strict legal action will be taken against all individuals found guilty once the high-level probe concludes its work. The state government's move underscores its intent to crack down on corruption within welfare schemes and protect public funds.
