NEW DELHI: Noting the lack of literacy and rural background of a large number of construction workers, the Delhi High Court has observed that their right to pension cannot be deprived of merely due to hyper-technical issues or requirements such as production of original MR slips or serial number of the notary records.
Justice Prathiba M Singh’s observation came in a recent order, while granting relief to a woman construction worker, Badam Verva, who was knocking on the doors of the high court due to the non-disbursement of her pension under Rule 372 despite repeated applications before the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board.
“The Delhi (Right of Citizen to Time Bound Delivery of Services) Act, 2011, entry 372 specifies 30 days as the period during which the pension application has to be processed. However, the SOP of the BOCW Board stipulates disposal within 60 days. Thus, it is clear that once a pension benefit application is made by the worker, bearing in mind the financial status of such workers, the said application ought to be processed without any delay,” the order stated.
Pointing out the financial status of construction workers, the court directed that Verva’s pension benefit application must be processed without any delay, saying her pension should be provided with 6 per cent of interest with effect from February 6 last year by July 1. Justice Singh also directed the board to pay Rs 25,000 which was awarded to the woman as her cost of litigation.
