Delhi government announces free bus passes for construction workers

NEW DELHI: The Arvind Kejriwal government on Wednesday announced free travel for registered construction workers in public buses, a move that will benefit over 10 lakh people in the national capital.

Announcing the launch of the scheme, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the labour department portfolio, distributed free bus passes to 100 construction workers.

“Ten lakh workers have been registered in Delhi. In the last one year, the Kejriwal government distributed Rs 600 crore among the 10 lakh registered workers (under various welfare schemes), which is the highest amount distributed among workers in the entire country,” Sisodia said addressing a gathering of beneficiaries.

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He asked the workers to spend the money they would now save due to the scheme on their family and not waste it on anything else.

Construction workers include masons, painters, welders, carpenters, crane operators, electricians, beldars, among others, associated with the construction industry.

Sisodia interacted with some of the beneficiaries who told him that they used to spend hundreds of rupees per month on travelling to their work places.

The construction workers will not have to run around offices or stand in queue for bus passes now and they can register online on DTC website or at 34 registration centres of Construction Board.

Under the scheme, all the workers registered with the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board can apply for free passes to travel in Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses, a government statement said.

Some of the workers present in the function stated how they spent hundreds of rupees for commuting to long distances, changing various modes of transport.

“I travel from Narela to Gurgaon for work by bus and Metro tain. It costs me Rs 150-200 per day, which is nearly half of what I earn daily,” Shahood Alam said.

After women, now the public bus rides have been made free for construction workers too. This will help the construction workers save Rs 1,500-2,000 per month and they will be able to support their families better, AAP MLA Atishi said.