SRINAGAR: Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Farooq Khan on Monday chaired 17th Board Meeting of Jammu and Kashmir Building & Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (JKBOCWWB).
Commissioner Secretary Labour and Employment Department (L&E), Saurabh Bhagat; Director General Budget, MY Itoo; CEO BOCWWB, Peer Muzaffar Ahmad; senior officers of Finance Department, Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs Department, Jal Shakti Department, PWD, Housing and Urban Development, PDD, representatives of labourers’ and Mazdoor associations were present during the meeting. While as Assistant Labour Commissioner Jammu and other labourers’ associations attended the meeting via video conference.
Advisor Khan said that in order to make welfare schemes grand success, creating awareness among the labour force is a vital step, adding that the labour force is one of the most honourable segments of our society as they earn with all their honesty and hard work.
“We have to take care of this underprivileged segment of our society through the government-run schemes and also to simplify the process so that these workers would avail all the benefits meant for them,” Advisor Khan said while addressing the Board members.
The meeting was told that more than Rs 68 crore, including 13.12 crore during the financial year 2019-20, was disbursed into the accounts of BOC workers during current COVID-19 crisis.
It was given out that Rs 4000 per active BOC worker was sanctioned in four installments of Rs 1000 each with effect from April 2020 and the amount was disbursed through DBT to every active BOC worker registered with the Board.
The meeting was informed that under the chairmanship of Advisor Khan a record number of files for sanction of relief amount for BOC workers and their dependents were disposed of which were pending for more than a decade.
Speaking on the occasion, the Advisor also appreciated the BCOWWB for its untiring efforts during COVID-19 pandemic by providing relief to the workers.
On the occasion, the Advisor directed the concerned departments, where a large chunk of labourers work, to ensure the registration of these workers so that they would avail benefits of such schemes and added that all the private companies and employers who employ workers must be held responsible for the non-registration of labourers.
Taking account of various welfare schemes under its ambit, the Advisor asked the Board to further streamline and ease the process of applying, reducing redundant, repetitive formalities for various assistance schemes to ensure that the benefits reach the designated beneficiaries.
Advisor Khan also asked the Board to create a simplified and centralized system for verification of beneficiaries so as to speed up disposing of cases besides bringing transparency in the process.
The Board also decided to launch several girls and women welfare schemes like bicycle facility and marriage assistance and other schemes so as to make women of BOC workers more empowered and self-dependent.
Besides, the Board meeting discussed enhancement in the financial assistance under welfare schemes; sponsorship for meritorious students for professional degrees based on the percentage of marks; providing bicycles to the meritorious girl children of BOC workers; making Tehsildar concerned as the competent authority to issue the dependent certificate in favour of BOC workers.
It also discussed the construction of labour sarai, night shelter and transit accommodations, inclusion of nursery, KGs in the education assistance schemes of the Board.
The Board meeting was also informed that several reforms are being taken by the BOCWWB like Panchayati Raj Institutions, the newly elected Chairman BDCs have been empowered to certify the employment of BOC workers.
While discussing the physical and financial progress of the Board during the last financial year 2019-20, it was given out that Rs 70 crore were provided to 93,962 beneficiaries under different assistance and welfare schemes.
Similarly, during the current financial year, 2020-21 more than Rs 44 crore was disbursed to 5341 beneficiaries to date.
The meeting was told that Mission Mode Project for BOCWWB was launched in J&K on July 16, 2020, under which registration of left out workers was simplified and till date 12484 BOC workers have been registered, in addition to this 4674 BOC workers have renewed their registration under the mission mode project.
