MMRDA to provide additional Rs 5 lakh compensation to family of deceased labourer
The compensation amounting to Rs 5 lakh will be provided through a ‘labour welfare fund’ to the family of deceased labourers involved in construction of metro corridors in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). This fund has been set up by Mumbai Metropolitan and Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) for the first time and the funds will be gathered by penalizing contractors for accidents, injuries at the construction site.
In 2017, three mishaps occured at the metro construction site, one in which a labourer died after a part of the crane hit his head. These incidents has pushed the planning authority to bring a policy for labourer.
The planning authority has planned to recover penalties beginning from Rs 5000 to Rs 5 lakh from contractors in case of mishap or any safety violations at the construction site.
In case of death of a labourer in a mishap, the contractor is entitled to pay penalty amounting to Rs 5 lakh to the family of the deceased labourer. “This is in addition to the 60 percent (Rs 1 lakh) compen- sation which is provided to the family of the deceased under the Workmen Compensation Act. This amount has been fixed under the labour welfare fund which was approved by the state government in April,” added a senior MMRDA official.
The contractors would also be penalized in case of safety violations at the site. These violations can include not wearing a helmet or other safety apparatus at the construction site.
"The first penalty will amount to Rs 5000 and in case of repeated offence, the amount will increase to Rs 10,000. The penalty amount has been fixed based on the type of violations and injury to the labourer. The amount collected would be the source of labour welfare fund,” said a senior MMRDA official.
Earlier, the penalty amount collected from the contractors would return back to the government fund. “This new labour policy would be useful as it gathers funds from the contractors and would be used specifically for welfare of the labourers,” added the official.
In October 2017, a metal structure used for the pier for construction of metro 7 corridor connecting Dahisar east to Andheri east collapsed on the road. No injuries were reported in the incident. In November 2017, labourer was killed after a part of crane came crashing down on his head at the Metro-7 (Dahisar East-Andheri East) construction site. In the same month, a construction material tilted during the construction work of Colaba-Bandra Seepz metro 3 corridor. There were no injuries reported in the incident.