Punjab and Haryana High Court continues restraint on use of construction workers' funds for Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana

Punjab and Haryana High Court has stopped the release of funds meant for construction workers for the Mukh Mantri Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana.

A Division Bench led by Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor held that the state scheme was not limited to construction workers. The court noted that the earlier restraint on releasing funds for the scheme will continue to stay in place.

The order came on a group of petitions, including a public interest litigation filed by Dr Ambedkar Workers Union, Punjab. The petitions questioned how the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board was formed under the repealed Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996. They also challenged the Board's adoption of the Mukh Mantri Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana, notified by the Punjab Government on July 2.

The petitioners argued that the eligibility under the scheme was not limited to construction workers. They said releasing funds for such a scheme would go against the statutory scheme. The Court had granted interim protection on July 23.

The State placed an amendment on record, notified on August 13, to form the Board under the Code on Social Security, 2020. The State argued that the problem with forming the Board under the earlier notification was fixed by the new notification.

An affidavit filed by the State of Punjab stated that 16 schemes, made only for registered workers, were all notified before November 21, 2025, when the earlier Act was repealed. The Bench noted that all 16 schemes would be for the exclusive benefit of registered workers and the funds under the schemes would be released in a fair and clear manner.

The Court allowed the release of funds under 16 schemes meant only for registered construction workers. The Bench said the State is free to use funds for the benefit of registered construction workers, as per the schemes meant only for them. The Board can also use funds from the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board for the Ayushman Bharat Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana of 2021, for the benefit of construction workers.