Tuesday, August 28, 2018
- Chandigarh, Aug 28–The Haryana Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr. Nayab Singh Saini, has said that provision has been made to provide financial assistance to labourers suffering from silicosis disease for rehabilitation, death, funeral, pension, family pension, education, kanyadan and for son’s marriage. A corpus fund of Rs 10 crore has been created for this purpose.
- He disclosed this while addressing a press conference here today. Media Advisor to Chief Minister, Mr. Rajiv Jain, Principal Secretary, Labour Department, Mr. Mahavir Singh, and Director General, Information, Public Relations and Languages Department, Mr. Sameer Pal Srow, were also present on this occasion.
- Mr Saini said Haryana had become the first state to frame such a rehabilitation policy for labourers affected with silicosis disease. This would benefit workers working in stone crushers, coal-fired thermal power plants and construction sites and mines.
- Awareness campaigns were run for this purpose and an amount of Rs 96.25 lakh was distributed to the affected labourers. The state government has spent Rs 6.17 crore on eight schemes under the Silicosis Rehabilitation Policy. Apart from this, 23 welfare schemes are being run, including one for providing financial assistance for the education of registered labourers.
- Mr. Saini said government canteens had been opened in nine districts namely, Panchkula, Ambala, Karnal, Bhiwani, Sonepat, Gurugram, Faridabad, Hisar and Yamunanagar, where registered labourers were getting nutritious food for Rs 10 only. Such canteens would be opened in other districts as well. Apart from this, Antyodaya Bhavans have been opened in six districts where information related to all welfare schemes is provided.
- In order to make women labourers independent, sewing machines are being distributed to 60,000 women labourers at a cost of about Rs 27 crore. Apart from this, Kanyadan Rashi of Rs 51,000 is provided for the marriage of their daughters, and Rs 50,000 is provided three days ahead of marriage for making arrangements.
- Mr Saini said the present state government had launched a special campaign for registration of construction labourers in the state. Apart from this, Rs 21,000 is being provided to labourers as paternity benefit and Rs 36,000 as maternity benefit, Rs 5 lakh in case of death caused at work place; and Rs 2 lakh in case of natural death, Rs 2.5 lakh in case of death of unregistered labourer. In case of disability, assistance of up to Rs 3 lakh is given. The monthly disability pension of registered labourers has been increased from Rs 300 to Rs 3,000. Scholarship of Rs 3,000 being given to children of labourers from classes one to post-graduation level, has been increased to Rs 8,000 and from Rs 16,000 to Rs 20,000.
- Mr. Saini said that the Labour Welfare Board met the expenditure on the admission fee, tuition fee, examination fee of children of labourers studying in government institutions, colleges, universities, IITs, IIMs, AIIMS and NIT. Apart from this, the students of class X who score 60 per cent to 90 per cent marks were being given the incentive of Fixed Deposit of ranging between Rs 21,000 and Rs 51,000.
- Online facility has been started for registration, renewal and providing benefit to construction labourers, and the amount is being sent directly into the bank accounts of beneficiaries, he added.