No safety measures or gear for Gurugram construction workers
Following the death of Kunal Dagar, 24, an engineer at an under-construction apartment complex in Gurugram’s Sector 90, on October 2, Hindustan Times visited under-construction buildings in six different parts of the city and found sites that lacked safety measures, putting workers’ lives at risk.
Dagar, who was working at the building, allegedly fell from the 13th floor through a stairwell after he slipped on the staircase. An FIR was later registered against the builder.
According to the Haryana Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2005 (HBOCW), whenever there is a possibility of any material, equipment or building worker falling at a construction site during work, an adequate and suitable safety net shall be provided by the employer in accordance with national standards.
“Most construction workers die on site because of falls. This can easily be prevented by putting up nets,” Subhash Bhatnagar, the chief functionary of NIRMANA, an NGO that works for the betterment of unorganised sector workers (especially in building construction), said.
At the sites HT visited, most workers said they were so used to working without safety gear, that they did not ask contractors for it at all. Some of them, however, did say that they were provided safety gear while working at ‘big towers’ (apartments or big commercial buildings).
All buildings that cost over ₹10 lakh to construct and have 10 or more workers involved in its construction, fall under the purview of the HBOCW rules. The rules specify several different safety gear for workers and safety precautions for the site.
Of the total of 15 under-construction buildings an HT team visited in Sector 52, Sector 43, Sector 90, Jharsa Village, Shivaji Nagar and Civil Lines — it found labourers working without helmets and safety shoes, except for the apartment where Dagar died.
Most of these buildings, up to four storeys high, were in residential areas, to be rented out as residential or commercial spaces.
“We conduct regular inspections at construction sites and the ones not following guidelines are sealed,” Naresh Narwal, the additional labour commissioner, said.
But several officials in the department said they only inspect large construction sites and not smaller residential or commercial buildings, which also come under the purview of the rules and form a chunk of the construction activity in the city.
“How can they wear helmets and carry loads on their heads?” asked Bishal Yadav, 36, a supervisor at a four-storey building in Jharsa Village.
“This protects them just fine,” he said, pointing to a plywood piece atop a woman’s head on which she was carrying bricks.
“Hardly any inspections are done by the labour department. When the government starts to put owners who flout safety rules behind bars, only then will they start ensuring safety at the sites,” Rajender Singh Saroha, district secretary of the Bawan Nirman Kaamkaar Union, said.
“If the implementation requires ₹1 lakh and the fine is only ₹1,000, what would you do? Implement it or pay the fine?” Bhatnagar asked.
He also said the labour department hardly conducts inspections due to a staff crunch.
When asked about smaller buildings that cost less than ₹10 lakh to construct and do not come under the purview of the HBOCW rules, Narwal said they were not the responsibility of the labour department. “The government cannot look after everything. Owners should take care of the safety of such buildings,” he said.