The Supreme Court has expressed strong disapproval towards Delhi Chief Secretary Dharmendra for not fully compensating construction workers impacted by anti-pollution measures in Delhi. During a hearing focused on tackling the severe air pollution crisis, Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih criticized the failure to comply with the court’s clear directive to provide full compensation to registered construction workers who were affected by restrictions on construction activities.
The matter escalated when the Chief Secretary requested an additional ten days to complete the compensation payments, prompting a sharp response from the bench. “Why? When will you pay the balance? The workers were verified, which is why they received Rs 2,000. Do you want them to starve? We are issuing a contempt notice immediately; this is unacceptable. India is a welfare state,” Justice Oka remarked.
In the session, it was revealed that while some workers received an initial payment of Rs 2,000 for immediate relief, a substantial amount of Rs 6,000 each was still pending. The bench questioned the bureaucratic hurdles cited for the delay, especially in light of the urgent need for these payments.
Senior Advocate Shadan Farasat, representing the Delhi government, highlighted the inefficiencies and argued against the need for pre-verification, while Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy, representing the Chief Secretary, insisted that verification was a legal requirement. The court refuted this claim, emphasizing the urgency of disbursing the full compensation.
The discussion also touched upon the overall number of construction workers in Delhi, with the court questioning whether the official figure of 90,000 was accurate and whether sufficient efforts had been made to encourage more workers to register on the official portal. The Chief Secretary admitted that no public notices had been issued to this effect but assured that steps would be taken to address this oversight.
The court has ordered that the remaining balance of the compensation be paid immediately and criticized the Delhi government for not adequately informing unregistered workers about their entitlements. Further, it directed that meetings with labor unions be organized to facilitate the registration process.
