Death of labourers at BRO project sites: Govt to bear expenses for transportation of mortal remains

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced that govt. will bear cost of transporting mortal remains of BRO casual labourers to their homes & increased funeral expenditure to ₹10,000. This will enable bereaved families to perform last rites of their kin who laid down their lives for the nation.

The mortal remains of casual labourers of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) who die at work will be transported to their homes on government expense, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on September 24.

Mr. Singh made the announcement in a post in Hindi on ‘X.

The Defence Ministry in a statement earlier in the day said Mr. Singh has approved the extension of facility of preservation and transportation of mortal remains, available for General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) personnel of the BRO, to casually paid labourers (CPLs).

Mr. Singh in his post said that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “sensitive towards the welfare of all the workers”.

Keeping this in mind, it has been decided in the Defence Ministry that if workers engaged on a short-term basis die due to any reason during the construction work of BRO projects, then their mortal remains will be safely transported to their homes, Mr. Singh wrote in the post.

Expenses incurred in taking the mortal remains to their homes will be borne by the government. The amount to be spent on their funerals has also been increased, he added.

“We believe that the importance of those who work hard to build roads at the country’s border and in remote areas adjacent to them is no less than that of a soldier. Therefore this decision has been taken,” he said.