2 years after Dindigul worker’s death, red-tapism denies kin solatium

CHENNAI: It has been over two years since Ramadass, a construction worker, fell to death in his workplace, and the family has been forced to run from pillar to post for compensation.

Red tape coupled with cumbersome procedures has delayed the disbursement of compensation of Rs 5 lakh by the Tamil Nadu Construction Workers Welfare Board (TNCWWB) to Ramadass’s family.

Ramadass, a native of Govindasamy Nagar in Madipakkam, has been working in Vendachandur in the Dindigul district. He had a fatal fall from around 52 feet in an under-construction building and died on June 6, 2022, recalled his wife Yasodha.

It is not just Ramadass’s family but the family of Sekar, another construction worker and a registered member of the welfare board, who died at his workplace at Sunguvarchatram in February 2023, is still waiting for the compensation.

These two cases are the tip of an iceberg of red tape that leads to delayed compensation to the affected families. Elaborating on the same, R Geetha of the Unorganised Workers Federation said, “The procedure is complicated and cumbersome.

The authorities are seeking reports from the Revenue, DISH (Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health), and Labour departments to approve and disburse compensation from the welfare board.

Though the victims’ families submitted all necessary documents such as death certificates, police reports (FIR), and post-mortem reports to confirm the death of the workers at the work site, the victims’ families are deprived of timely compensation as submission of reports by DISH and revenue department made mandatory.”

Ramadass’s family had applied for compensation by uploading all the necessary documents on November 11 the same year of his death on the welfare board’s web portal. Recounting the ordeal of waiting, Yasodha said, “It has been nineteen months since we applied for compensation, but nothing has happened to date. We are tired of visiting the labour department office, requesting compensation.”

However, the officials in the Labour department informed Yasodha that they had completed their work but the process of approving the compensation is getting delayed because their counterparts in the Dindigul district are yet to submit reports.

“When we are not getting the compensation at the right time, what is the use of it,” questioned Yasodha and recollected her encounters with families, who were waiting for compensation for more than three to four years, during her visit to the labour department.

State secretary of Construction Workers’ Union TM Chandran, who has been helping Sekar’s family to seek compensation, opined, “Instead of simplifying the procedures to help the families in distress, the government machinery is making it burdensome.”