Head count of construction worker rises in Noida, points to realty revival

NOIDA: The Labour Department of Gautam Budh Nagar has registered 6000 fresh contractor workers at 38 builder project sites in Noida and Greater Noida, during the course of an audit and enrolment drive carried out over last three weeks.

The spurt of labourer engagement officially determines rekindled activity at the sites which stayed in idle stages for over one year in the twin cities.

With a combined pressure from the state government and the respective authorities on the realtors to complete pending work, the accelerated construction work signifies a drive towards completion. The numbers have emerged from an audit and enrolment drive by the department at projects where construction has started full swing, reports the Labour Department. While there still are projects where builders are yet to re-start work, the Labour Department states, the counting process will now be an ongoing exercise.

According to deputy labour commissioner, Gautam Budh Nagar, BK Rai, this month’s number is a significant peak as the April count of fresh enrolment was about 1000. “In April, there were about 1000 construction workers registered. This month, there are 6000 fresh entries. We have not seen such a spurt in numbers in construction workers in a long time. This seems to be an impact of the pressure created on the builders by the administration and state government for completing pending work,” BK Rai, deputy labour commissioner, Gautam Budh Nagar told TOI.

The estimates have been drawn by field workers of the Gautam Budh Nagar labour department after physical inspection of the sites. The process of registering and counting workers continue to be in progress. The count of the construction workers is a regular exercise conducted by the Labour Department under the building and construction workers welfare act. The workers once registered by the department under the act are automatically entitled to several benefits.

The benefits extended through the scheme include healthcare coverage for the workers and their families, school fee for children, a bonus for the wedding of an adult girl child, accident coverage, handicap compensation and pension incase a worker suffers physical handicap because of a mishap at the construction site while working. For any construction worker enrolled with the Labour Department, three years of continuous service makes them eligible for a pension from the state government.

“The construction workers are all migrant labourers, but there are good benefits for those who come and join this work. For a construction worker who continues to work continuously for three years, there is a lifelong provision for pension. All these benefits have been provided to attract skilled workers to the construction and development sector,” Rai said.

Source: ET Realty