If one travels to nearly any part of the country right now, one image that everybody will come across is construction, be it skyscrapers, roads, or metros. The other image, which is right in front of our eyes but one which we rarely notice, is close to that half-constructed building or on the side of that new bridge which is being built. There might be a small tin shed or tarpaulin sheet where workers, mostly migrant workers, sleep, eat and live for extended periods of time.
The Smart City Mission covers 100 cities, and the National Infrastructure Pipeline envisions Rs 111 lakh crore in investment. Yet the workforce which makes this and more possible remains invisible to the policy and the system structure. Construction workers are just a mere footnote to this whole process of urbanisation, though they are its literal foundation.
What is Missing?
The construction sector is now the second biggest source of employment for nearly 71 million workers in the country, and some reports which suggest that the number is bound to reach 100 million by the year 2030.
Yet have we ever thought about how these migrant construction workers live? What is their routine after their 12-hour shifts? What are their living conditions, and is anybody paying attention?
Some organisations, such as Jan Sahas and Aajeevika Bureau have documented the living conditions of these migrant workers. Across urban areas, the workers lack basic facilities, from safe drinking water to proper sanitation and enough space to sleep. On top of it, the municipal corporations often label these settlements as ‘temporary encroachments’, which are eventually demolished, and the question is, why?
A System Designed to Exclude Workers
Urban planning has followed the logic that separates the industrial zones from the residential zones. The assumption is that the workers will commute between them, and liberalisation after 1991 intensified this divide.
Three structural flaws drive this crisis. The first is the distance between where the workers live and where the industrial and construction corridors are usually situated. Workers often walk for hours just to save money.
Second, the Floor Space Index system determines how much built-up area is permitted on a given plot. The developers receive extra FSI for agreeing to provide or build ‘affordable’ housing. However, they face legal warfare on the matter. Sometimes they will just postpone it, reduce it or change it in ways that let the projects move forward without ever fulfilling their obligations.
Finally, municipal corporations categorise workers’ makeshift camps as temporary encroachments, making them invisible and vulnerable to demolition, which has, over the years, left thousands and thousands of workers homeless.
A Law That Exists Only on Paper
The construction sector is one of the rare sectors in the country that has its own separate act and regulating board or authority, known as the Building and Other Construction Workers Act 1996, which promises not only safe drinking water at the work sites but also a host of other social security measures, including aid and support for housing those concerned by it. Nevertheless, the reality on the ground is quite different.
The board for its funding has a cess collection measure where 1-2 per cent is charged for buildings whose total construction cost is above 10 lakhs. Over the years, the board has collected a massive amount of 1.17 lakh crore, out of which 70000 crore remains unspent. This is partly why the workers don’t have access to basic facilities.
The situation is such that the CAG audit report on the BOCW and its performance has found that in states such as Jharkhand, there has been no budgeting, and basic schemes have not been implemented on the ground. In Madhya Pradesh, at least 416 crores from the BOCW fund were diverted to support an electricity bill waiver scheme.
There lies a deeper issue which is beyond the purview of the construction board. The latter can provide housing support, but it cannot choose where the housing will be or should be constructed. That regulatory power falls under the authority of the Real Estate Regulation and Development Act of 2016, or RERA, and the Model Tenancy Act. Changes will have to be brought there first to allow optimal use of the unused funds collected by the BOCW board.
Fixing The System- What Needs To Change
The problem is one of policy design, which can be corrected and bettered. Any large construction project should be required to make basic housing arrangements for the workers building it. That can’t be left to the whims and decisions of the contractors and must be enforced through the state authority, and if not done, a commensurate penalty should be imposed.
Second, the municipal corporation can and should play a bigger role and designate temporary housing corridors in and around the industrial region, provided with a mandatory water and electricity supply and hygienic washrooms.
Thirdly, under current RERA rules, developers who do not build mandatory affordable units face penalties which they further pass on to buyers, and there must be a robust system to check that breach. Some measures might include cost disclosures, audits, or a mandate that penalties should not be passed on to buyers, and those guilty of breaking that rule should have their future building projects put on hold or frozen.
Finally, it’s high time to provide decent housing not only for construction workers but also for all migrant workers. This has been done to some extent in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, but other states need to follow suit.
The Real Test Of Urban India Is Still Unmet
India’s urban policy focuses on numbers and measurable achievements, such as millions of housing units built, thousands of kilometres of metro laid, and 100 smart cities, but what they have missed till is a worker’s access to water, food, electricity and a roof. The money is there; 70000 crores in unspent funds stand witness to that. What is lacking is clear political will and planning.
A holistic development of urban spaces in the country (which will have six hundred million urban dwellers by the year 2036) should include proper accommodation for the workers who are building it.
References
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India. “PMAY Housing Units Sanctioned.” Accessed 2024. https://mohua.gov.in.
- Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India. Periodic Labour Force Survey 2022–23: Construction Sector Employment. New Delhi: MoSPI, 2023.
- Jan Sahas. “Migration and Workers’ Protection.” Accessed 2024. https://www.jansahas.org.
- Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India. The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996. New Delhi: Ministry of Labour and Employment, 1996.
- Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Performance Audit of Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Boards. Report No. 6 of 2024. New Delhi: CAG, 2024.
- The India Forum. “Rs 1.17 Lakh Crore Collected, Rs 48,000 Crore Unspent: The BOCW Cess Crisis.” Accessed 2024. https://www.theindiaforum.in.
- Comptroller and Auditor General of India. State Finance Audit Report: Gujarat BOCW Cess Utilisation. Cited in Devdiscourse, 2024.
- The Wire. “Madhya Pradesh Diverted Rs 416 Crore from BOCW Fund for Electricity Bill Waiver.” Accessed 2024. https://thewire.in.
- Real Estate Regulatory Authority, Delhi. Affordable Housing Compliance Data. Accessed 2024. https://rera.delhi.gov.in.
- National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector. Report on Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganised Sector. New Delhi: NCEUS, 2007.
- World Bank and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. India Urbanisation Review: 600 Million Urban Residents by 2036. Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022.
- Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India. National Infrastructure Pipeline. New Delhi: DEA, 2020. https://www.indiainvestmentgrid.gov.in.
(The views expressed do not represent the institution.)
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