Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved a proposal to launch a Group (Term) Insurance Scheme for Casual Paid Labourers (CPLs) engaged by Border Roads Organisation/General Reserve Engineer Force for the ongoing project works, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Saturday.
This scheme will provide the insured value of Rs 10 lakh as an insurance in any kind of death to CPLs family/Next of Kin.
Keeping in view the severe risk posed to the lives of CPLs posted in hazardous work-sites, inclement weather, inhospitable terrain and occupational health hazards, and considering the deaths occurred/reported during their engagement, the provision of insurance coverage on humanitarian grounds will prove to be a great morale booster to the CPLs, the ministry said.
This scheme will serve as a social security and welfare measure to the CPLs working in remote and far-flung areas of the nation. It will go a long way in securing the livelihoods of their families, it added.
Notably, in the recent past, the Defence Ministry has launched many schemes for the welfare of engaged Casual Paid Labourers.
In September last year, the government rolled out a new policy for tens of thousands of casual workers employed by the BRO to build infrastructure in the country’s farthest frontiers to give them dignity in death.
The policy entails preservation and transportation of the mortal remains of ‘casual paid labourers’ to their native place while also raising funeral expenses from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 for those whose last rites are performed at the worksite.
According to reports, BRO employs up to one lakh casual workers to build border infrastructure in areas stretching from Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim to Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. These projects include roads, bridges, tunnels, airfields and helipads.
They work with BRO personnel in adverse climate and tough working conditions, which sometimes results in casualties.