JOIN USThe High Court on Wednesday questioned Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) if it was serious about the safety and welfare of the Metro workers in the City or if they were conducting the inspection only for the sake of a PIL filed against them.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice A S Bopanna directed the counsel representing BMRCL to submit details of the number of workers, contractors and sub-contractors executing the Metro project in the City.
The Bench sought information on the terms and conditions of the agreement that BMRCL enters into a contract with the contractors and sub-contractors. The Bench observed that at many locations, the contractors are not maintaining a register containing the names of the workers. If there was any death at work, the contractors had no details about the person who has lost his life.
The petitioner's advocate submitted to the court that there are no details about the number of workers working in the project and BMRCL does not have details about the location where these labourers are camped. The BMRCL counsel submitted that a meeting between the contractors and sub-contractors was convened and an inspection of the Metro workers' camps will be conducted next week.
The Bench directed BMRCL to improve the safety standards of the workers and to penalise the contractors who are not complying with these standards. Chief Justice Waghela directed BMRCL to stop the work if it was not serious about labour safety in the City.