109 workers died at DMRC sites

Ambika Pandit, TNN, Oct 23, 2010

NEW DELHI: In reply to an RTI query filed by the People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) in August, the labour department of Delhi government has said that it does not have consolidated figures on the labour deaths reported during the Commonwealth Games preparations. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had separately filed an affidavit in the high court in September which said that 109 workers had died on its sites during construction of phases I and II. Clearly, these are not factored in by the labour department in its affidavit.

Here's the sequence of events: Indrajeet Kumar Jha from the PUDR filed an RTI application on August 12 addressed to the office of the labour commissioner seeking a detailed factsheet on the accidents, deaths, compensation awarded to victims and the families of the deceased at various construction sites of projects related to the Commonwealth Games.

But PUDR was in for a surprise when it got a reply over a month later on September 15 from the office of the chief inspector of factories of the labour department, which has no direct link with these accidents or deaths, in which it was informed that they had no such information and thus the requisite information could not be furnished.

Next came a reply from the deputy labour commissioner (south district) on September 24 which said 27 labourers suffered injuries in the under construction foot over bridge collapse near the JLN stadium on September 21. It carried no names, addresses or details of the compensation involved. Besides, no other details on deaths and accidents before the bridge collapse were provided.

As a matter of fact, TOI had highlighted the case of the death of a two-year old girl Varsha, daughter of a construction worker, who was crushed to death under the wheels of a truck while her parents were at work late in the evening at JLN stadium in August.

The third reply to the RTI application came from the deputy labour commissioner (central district) and this stated that as per office records two workers had died in accidents since 2005. The reply went on to give the details of the two workers and the compensation granted.

Citing the labour department's response to the RTI, Moushumi Basu from PUDR pointed out that the three replies reflect an absence of consolidation and coordination. "The labour department is in charge of workers compensation and should have a consolidated figure on accidents and deaths. The RTI was filed in August and it should have at least reflected the

109 deaths that DMRC has accounted for at its sites during construction of phase-I and II," Basi added.

Citing the DMRC affidavit she added that "This was the first time that exact figures of accidents happening at work sites have been provided by an agency. The fatalities listed by the DMRC date from 2003 to present."

PUDR activists also point out that the DMRC figures are in direct contradiction with the labour department's oft quoted figure of 45 deaths for the entire Commonwealth Games. "The labour department's reply to our RTI reaffirms the fact that there is no transparency or coordination between departments and agencies on matters regarding workers welfare,'' activists assert.