CHENNAI: Over the last three months, Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing and Development Corporation Ltd (TAHDCO) has been working with local bodies from across the state to identify temporary sanitary workers through manpower agencies in order to put together an integrated database.
The database will help TAHDCO identify and keep track of possible beneficiaries without them having to approach the corporation.
Manually, it has been able to register only around 74,000 temporary sanitary workers. Through the recent initiative, they have so far identified around 2.5 lakh temporary workers including sweepers, those engaged in housekeeping in government hospitals, malls etc. These numbers are now being verified and the project is expected to be completed in another two weeks, the officials said.
“Once the software is ready, the workers will receive SMS updates on schemes and how to apply for them. The goal is to reach out to as many beneficiaries as possible instead of waiting for them to come to us. We don’t even insist on (employment) IDs for registration because some may have them and some may not,” said a senior official.
Once verified, the newly registered members will be issued smart cards instead of the physical yellow cards that are now issued, along with unique codes. The new system will also help officials track possible drop-outs among children of sanitary workers, especially girls, and also help officials pick up on other developments that suggest the beneficiary might be in need of intervention.
“The system is designed to pop up alerts if a beneficiary has applied for scholarship for his/her daughter in one particular class but has not collected it the next year. We would then be able to coordinate with the school education department to find out why this happened,” the official said.
Under the Cleanliness Workers Welfare Board, temporary workers and cleanliness workers are entitled to accident insurance schemes, 10 types of scholarships for their children depending on the class/course, marriage and maternity assistance, old age pension and may even apply to reimburse purchase of spectacles.
Since it is usual for workers to migrate to other professions, a field verification has been proposed for every 3-5 years to ensure their eligibility for the schemes.