Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu has approved a health scheme for registered building and other construction workers, providing annual health check-ups and cashless medical treatment for workers and eligible family members, according to a statement issued on Saturday.
The Delhi Building Workers Health Scheme will cover registered construction workers and their eligible spouses. Beneficiaries will receive an annual health check-up, cashless outpatient consultations, diagnostic services, medicines and inpatient treatment through a network of empanelled hospitals operating at Central Government Health Scheme rates, the statement said.
Treatment under the scheme will include emergency care, occupational diseases, chronic illnesses, specialised care, maternal healthcare and rehabilitation. Each beneficiary will be eligible for treatment costing up to Rs 2 lakh annually, subject to an overall family limit of Rs 10 lakh a year.
The approval follows an earlier decision by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and the Delhi Cabinet. The scheme will be administered for registered workers through the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, an autonomous statutory body established in 2002 to register construction workers and administer welfare measures funded by cess collected from construction employers.
More than 2.7 lakh building and construction workers are currently registered as live members with the board. The scheme’s coverage is therefore linked to the board’s registration system, meaning workers must be registered members to access the stated benefits.
The scheme also includes provisions for worksite accidents and medical emergencies. In such cases, beneficiaries may obtain treatment at the nearest non-empanelled hospital, which will be treated as provisionally empanelled for the limited duration of the emergency, according to the statement.
Given the technical and specialised nature of the programme, it will be implemented through a Project Implementing Agency. The agency will initially be engaged for three years, with the possibility of a one-year extension subject to a performance review, officials said.
Mobile Medical Units will be provided under the programme to transport workers from worksites to empanelled hospitals, coordinate health screenings and support awareness efforts. The arrangement is intended to connect workers at construction sites with the healthcare network and assist with the delivery of screening and treatment services.
A dedicated software system will also be introduced to digitally manage beneficiary records, treatment histories and claims processing. The statement did not provide the name of the Project Implementing Agency, the empanelled hospitals, the scheme’s total budget or a specific date for the start of services.
The Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board will remain the institutional mechanism through which the registered workforce is covered. Further implementation details are expected to follow as the agency appointment, hospital network and digital claims system are put in place.
