BENGALURU: Rs 8,000 crore – this is the kind of jawdropping amount that the labour department is sitting on. But when it comes to the welfare of the labourers, it quotes rules and laws as to why it can’t spend this money! Many are reminding the government that it is its duty to provide for the labourers while extending the lockdown. Hungry daily wage workers, construction workers, labourers and garment workers face a grim future with food crisis looming large.
Meanwhile as workers cry out ‘’give us food,’’ Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar, when contacted, admitted that the department had the money and that there was a hitch in the law which did not allow that money to be used in these difficult circumstances. The labour department has a pile of deposits in different banks. Activists and those concerned have pointed to this Rs 8,000 crore that is meant for worker relief lying unutilised with the government.
Labour leader K Mahantesh said these labourers from the unorganised sector face many challenges. Be it house maids, barbers, truck, taxi and maxicab drivers, auto drivers or hamali loaders at APMCs, they eke out a hand-tomouth existence. Without money day after day and month after month, these 2-3 crore workers in Karnataka don’t know what to do or who to approach. Congress state working president Eshwar Khandre said, “Workers cannot be satisfied with mere food packets.
There is also an element of self-respect, they have families at home to look after and they are all contributors to our nation’s growth. In this desperate time of need, it is the bounden duty of the government to loosen its purse strings and provide for them. Each labourer should be provided Rs 5,000 to tide over this crisis.’’ Former MLC Ramesh Babu said the department has parked crores of rupees in banks which are fetching them a good interest.
“In this desperate hour, while they should be providing for these hungry labourers, they are citing rules to show that these labourers cannot be supported. The rules are made for the good of the people, and not vice-versa,” he said. Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh said, “Labour has to be provided for. I raised this issue in Parliament on the concluding day.’’ Minister Shivaram Hebbar said there are laws and rules on how this money with the labour department has to be spent. “Under the law, it belongs to the construction workers and they have to be registered for us to support them. We provided them Rs 1,000 each in two instalments. There are stringent rules why it cannot be given to other sectors but only to construction labourers,” he said.
Police dept rejects application for wireless sets
The police blocked the labour department’s application for wireless sets to connect its staff to the central control room. In his communication to the secretary to the labour department, ADGP Pratap Reddy said the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 mandates the use of police wireless networks and equipment only for purpose they are licensed for. “The request to use police wireless equipment and networks contravenes the Indian Telegraph Act,’’ he is quoted as saying in the communication.