60-70% labour cards are bogus, Karnataka minister tells Assembly

Bengaluru: In a startling revelation, Labour Minister Santosh Lad on Tuesday told the Legislative Assembly that 60-70 per cent of labour cards are “bogus” and that he needed time to “cleanse” the system. 

A labour card entitles labourers to various benefits such as pension, housing subsidy, accident relief, assistance with children’s education and so on. A person must have been a construction worker for 90 days in a year to become eligible. 

“In every district, there are 2.5 lakh card holders. Of them, 60-70 per cent are bogus,” Lad said while replying to a question by Terdal BJP MLA Siddu Savadi. 

“In 2016, when I was labour minister, there were 12 lakh (card-holding) members. This number rose to 53 lakh. After removing seven lakh cards, we’re now left with 46 lakh cards,” Lad explained. 

To underline the extent of fraud, Lad cited the example of Haveri that had three lakh labour cards. "A social audit found that 2.70 lakh cards were bogus. Prime facie, only 30,000 are genuine,” he said. 

“I need some time to cleanse. If we don't get the right system in place, we won't be able to accommodate genuine people,” Lad said. 

Earlier, Savadi complained that labourers in his constituency were waiting for their applications to be processed. “With a labour card, they can get a subsidy of Rs 2 lakh under housing schemes,” he said. 

Karkala BJP MLA V Sunil Kumar said the labour department’s rules were so stringent that labourers simply cannot apply. “Your department wants a labourer to furnish details of approvals that were given by competent authorities (for a construction project where he worked). It is the owner who has to provide these details. Why should the labourer furnish this?” he said. 

Lad justified tightening of rules. “In one district, if we’re getting Rs 4 lakh in cess, we’re providing benefits worth Rs 50-60 crore,” he said. “If we tighten the registration process, then trade unions will say we mustn't violate law. Even lawmakers mount pressure. How do we cleanse this? We need a system,” he said. 

Tirthahalli BJP MLA Araga Jnanendra, a former home minister, said bogus cards have increased as more benefits are being given to labourers. “We welcome removing the bogus ones, but genuine workers mustn’t face difficulty,” he said. To this, Lad said his department is setting up district-wise centres to identify beneficiaries of various labour schemes.