CWG bridge collapse: Govt told to pay Rs 3 lakh to injured

The Delhi High Court today directed the city government to pay Rs three lakh to the labourers who were seriously injured when a foot overbridge collapsed outside the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, the main venue of the Commonwealth Games.

The court also asked it to pay Rs one lakh to those who suffered fracture injuries in the incident. 27 labourers were injured, five of them seriously, when the under- construction foot overbridge caved in yesterday.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Manmohan came down heavily on the Labour department of the Delhi Government for failing to monitor as to whether the workmen were provided with adequate safety equipment at the site or not.
        
The court directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) to investigate the matter.
        
"Actually your officers are not working... . Keeping in view the gravity of the accident, the DCP (Crime Branch) is directed to investigate and proceed as per law," the court said.
        
The bench also directed the Deputy Labour Commissioner and Assistant Labour Commissioner of Delhi Government to visit all construction sites within a week and file an affidavit by the next date of hearing.
        
The court passed the directions while hearing a public interest litigation filed by People's Union for Democratic Rights.
        
The NGO sought the court's direction to Delhi Government to pay basic wages to labourers working at various construction sites for the Commonwealth Games projects.
        
The collapse of the 95-metre long hanging bridge, which was intended to be a showpiece and connect the parking lot of the stadium with other side of the street in Lodhi Road area, was an embarrassment for the government at a time when it is facing questions from the CWG Federation over preparedness for the Games.
        
The Government had announced a compensation of Rs one lakh to each of those who sustained grievous injuries and Rs 50,000 to the other injured.