Hamirpur (HP), Aug 11(PTI) A construction workers board member on Monday alleged that crores of rupees in workers benefits were funnelled to people not eligible to receive them.
Nardev Singh Kanwar, the chairman of the Building Construction and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, claimed that in the months leading to the 2022 Assembly election, about 70,000 workers were registered by the board.
Addressing a press conference here, Kanwar said that between April 2021 and October 2022, a sum of Rs 171.61 crore was distributed to these workers in benefits.
He said that as soon as he took charge, he decided to do e-KYC of all the workers through the Him Parivar Portal and found many ineligible people, several of them wealthy.
Kanwar said the board has lodged an FIR against 12 such people in Hamirpur district alone. If found guilty, they may face up to ten years in jail, he said.
The fear of incarceration has made two people return Rs 2 lakh, he said. Who gave how much was not shared.