Delhi govt shows apex court how it is curbing begging

Sheila Dikshit government, which has been indicted by the Delhi high court for denying safety equipments to a large number of workers engaged in construction sites of the fast approaching Commonwealth Games, has sought to pacify an anguished Supreme Court saying it is committed to curb begging in the capital.

Additional solicitor general Mohan Parasaran on Thursday listed steps the government has taken in this regard and said 13 anti-begging teams have been formed to round up beggars and also declared certain areas “zero-tolerance zones”.

Besides, two exclusive mobile courts are already in operation for conducting trial of beggars, the government said in an affidavit.

The government affidavit came in response to a PIL seeking direction to the authorities to check increasing menace of begging in Delhi and taking appropriate steps for their rehabilitation.

In a matching development relating to the plight of the hard-pressed worker force striving to make the Games a success, a Delhi HC bench headed by chief justice Madan B Lokur asked Dikshit government and all civic authorities in the capital to register all labourers working in different sites and provide them safety equipments.

Seeking details of workers employed at various sites and the contractors who have employed them, the HC expressed concern at violation of basic rights of the workers.

A committee set up by the HC had pointed out that workers at the Games’ construction sites were not being paid minimum wages and made to work overtime for no extra money.

It had also recommended “exemplary fine” to be levied on errant authorities and stressed the need for stringent steps to start time-bound registration of workers and extend to them benefits like weekly offs and hygienic living conditions.

A PIL filed by People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) said the workers, ignorant about their rights, were housed in “crowded hovels” with no protection during winter. They don’t have electricity and live in filthy atmosphere and don’t have toilets.

PUDR had sought insurance, wage slips, weekly offs and proper medical care for about 4.15 lakh workers.