Delhi construction workers face debt over winter pollution curbs
A three-month construction ban leaves migrant workers without income, while access to Rs10,000 compensation remains difficult and inadequate
A ban on building construction in Delhi during winter, imposed amid worsening air pollution, is leaving construction workers without work for nearly three months. Although a Delhi government guideline provides Rs10,000 in compensation, many workers struggle to access the money and are forced to take loans to survive.
Construction workers are among those worst affected by the seasonal restrictions introduced to tackle Delhi’s poor air quality. While measures such as the odd-even rule, curbs on vehicles and restrictions on construction are aimed at controlling pollution, their impact is felt across the national capital.
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For workers who depend on daily wages, however, a construction ban means an immediate loss of income. With no alternative employment available for much of the period, many are left with little choice but to borrow money to meet basic expenses.
Labour card barrier
Access to the compensation begins with a labour card. But for the large number of migrant workers from states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, obtaining the card can be difficult because they are unable to provide local address proof.
Even workers who have a labour card face difficulties. The card has to be renewed every year. While the official fee is Rs 25 for first-time registration and Rs 20 for annual renewal, workers often spend more because many are unable to complete the renewal forms themselves.
Illiteracy makes the renewal process particularly difficult, forcing workers to rely on others to complete the paperwork. This adds to the actual cost of maintaining the card.
There are also workers who applied for a card years ago but are still waiting to receive it. Without the card, they cannot access the compensation meant to support them during the construction ban.
Compensation gap
The few workers who have received the promised Rs10,000 say the amount is nowhere near enough to survive for three months without work. The compensation may provide some relief, but it does not cover the full period of lost income and expenses.
Whether they have a labour card, are still waiting for one, or have already received the compensation, the workers share one experience: taking loans during the winter months simply to survive.
These are the workers who help build Delhi-NCR for the city’s more affluent residents. Yet many of them have no permanent shelter in Delhi.
Exposed to winter
During winter, many workers make a daily rush to night shelters in search of a place to sleep. Their days, meanwhile, are spent working or waiting for work amid Delhi’s toxic air.
The construction ban eventually ends after around three months. The cranes begin moving again, and construction activity resumes across the city.
But the workers who return to construction sites do so carrying the debt accumulated during the period when they had no work. The air may clear by then; their debts will not.
