Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Farooq Khan today underscored the need for creating mass awareness about the Government welfare programmes so that the benefits trickle down to the deserving lot.He was chairing a meeting to review the functioning of Labour & Employment Department (L&ED), here at Civil Secretariat. Advisor Khan directed the concerned to go for an intensive campaign on mission mode to reach out to the beneficiaries for their registration under various welfare schemes.He suggested for launching a mass campaign through local vernacular newspapers to spread the information about the government’s welfare schemes among the targeted people.The meeting was attended by Commissioner Secretary L&E Department, Saurabh Bhagat; Labour Commissioner, Abdul Rashid War and other concerned officers.The Secretary L&E briefed the Advisor about the activities of the department and apprised him about the implementation of Central Laws in J&K.The Advisor maintained that the Government is committed to the welfare of every strata of society, including working and labour class so as to uplift their socio-economic status. It was informed that various welfare schemes are in place for the purpose that include provision of Provident Fund, Medical Insurance, a package of welfare schemes for building and construction workers, rehabilitation of child labourers and bonded labourers etc.
While reviewing the working of J&K Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, the Advisor was informed that the board covers death, marriage, chronic disease injury benefits, besides assistance for permanent and temporary disability, maternal benefit and education assistance among other assistance and benefits.The Advisor directed the concerned to come up with a proposal of providing 100 per cent benefit cover to meritorious students of working class with the provision of tuition, lodging and boarding. He asked them to prepare different slabs from 8th standard to professional courses in a manner so that it would motivate the children to pursue higher education and let a child get education from best institutions of his area.Meanwhile, the meeting was informed that 4.09 lakh workers have been registered till November 2019, of which 51,761 were registered through online mode.The Advisor asked the concerned to hold awareness camps in all districts and make the working class aware about the government schemes meant for their uplift.The meeting was also informed about the transfer of Provident Fund data of different private and public sector employees from erstwhile J&K State mode to Central mode.The Advisor appreciated the department for its strenuous efforts and asked the officers to work with more dedication and deepen synergy to achieve the target of cent per cent coverage of eligible persons in J&K.