More than 270,000 registered construction workers in Delhi and their families will receive cashless healthcare under the Delhi Building Construction Workers Health Scheme, approved by Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu on Saturday, according to a report by Live Hindustan – NCR citing Hindustan and PTI.
The scheme will provide treatment through hospitals operating at Central Government Health Scheme rates. Covered services will include outpatient consultations, medicines, diagnostic tests and hospitalisation without upfront payment for eligible beneficiaries. Each registered construction worker will be entitled to treatment worth up to ₹2 lakh annually, while the total annual limit for the worker’s family will be ₹10 lakh.
The scheme had earlier received approval from the Delhi Cabinet. It will cover registered construction workers and their spouses, including annual health check-ups and access to a network of hospitals. The reported benefits include emergency treatment, care for work-related illnesses, management of chronic conditions, specialised treatment, and maternal and child healthcare.
Each beneficiary will also receive a health check-up voucher worth ₹1,000 every year. The scheme is expected to be operated for three years by an experienced agency, which will be responsible for deploying mobile medical units and maintaining digital records. A Building Workers Health Committee will monitor implementation.
The mobile medical units are intended to provide health checks at construction sites, inform workers about the scheme and help transport them to hospitals when required. The system will also maintain records of workers, treatment provided and payments made under the programme. The report did not specify the names of the hospitals that will initially be included in the network or the date on which enrolment and claims services will begin.
Emergency treatment will also be permitted at non-empanelled hospitals in certain circumstances. If a worker suffers an accident or faces a medical emergency at a construction site, the nearest non-listed hospital may provide treatment. Such a hospital can be treated as temporarily empanelled for a limited period of care under the scheme, according to the report.
The agency operating the programme will have to submit periodic reports to the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board. Before claims are paid, each claim made by the agency will be examined by a third-party agency, while the board may order additional checks when required. These verification requirements are intended to establish an administrative trail for treatment and payments under the programme.
The Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board is an autonomous statutory body established in 2002. It funds welfare schemes for construction workers through the cess collected from construction employers. More than 270,000 construction workers are currently reported to be active members of the board.
The scheme’s implementation will now depend on the appointment or deployment of the operating agency, creation of the digital system, empanelment of hospitals and rollout of mobile medical units. The board is expected to receive periodic implementation reports from the agency.
