The Delhi Government has launched the Namo Shramik Seva Kendra and a rest area for gig workers in Shalimar Bagh, promising a single location where workers can access assistance related to government services and welfare schemes.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta inaugurated the facilities on September 17 during the launch of the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan, a month-long campaign being organised from September 17 to October 17. The event coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday celebrations in the capital.
According to the Chief Minister, the Namo Shramik Seva Kendra will operate as a facilitation centre for workers. Services listed for the centre include assistance with registration and renewal, document verification, application-status information, details of welfare schemes and guidance on claims-related services.
Ms. Gupta said the centre was intended to reduce the need for workers to visit different government offices to access schemes and services. She described the initiative as part of the government’s stated effort to make public services more accessible, convenient and closer to citizens.
The Chief Minister said workers had made an important contribution to Delhi’s development and construction through their labour and dedication. The facilities are therefore positioned as an administrative access point for a workforce that often has to navigate multiple departments and documentation requirements to receive government support.
The inauguration also included the launch of a rest area for gig workers. The report did not provide details on the number of workers the facility is designed to serve, its operating hours, the services available beyond rest provisions or the budget allocated for the centre and the rest area.
The launch took place alongside other events organised as part of the campaign. Ms. Gupta participated in a blood donation camp, launched an organ donation campaign and pledged to donate her organs. The Delhi Government also made the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation operational at G.B. Pant Hospital to support coordination related to organ and tissue donation and transplantation.
An online portal was launched through which Delhi residents can join the organ donation pledge campaign. Separately, the Delhi BJP said blood donation camps were held across all 14 party districts and that earthen lamps were lit as part of the month-long campaign.
The celebrations drew criticism from the Aam Aadmi Party, which linked the timing of the events to the September 6 Satya Niketan building collapse in which seven people died. AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the government’s celebrations were insensitive, citing the proximity of the events to the deaths. His remarks were reported as political criticism of the manner and timing of the programme.
The Delhi Government’s announcement places the worker centre within a wider question of how urban administrations deliver welfare services to construction workers and gig workers. The immediate next step will be the operation of the facilitation centre during the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan and the delivery of the services listed by the Chief Minister.
