The Himachal Pradesh Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (HPBOWWB) has disbursed a total of ₹5.30 crore to registered labourers under 14 welfare schemes during the current financial year 2025–26, announced Board Chairman Nardev Singh Kanwar at a press conference today.
He informed that 4.73 lakh workers are currently registered with the Board, with 5,247 new registrations recorded in 2025–26. Additionally, e-KYC verification of over 70,863 labourers has been completed via the HIM-PARIVAAR portal, including 12,559 verifications this year alone.
Kanwar highlighted that although the Board has existed since 2009, only around 80,894 workers were registered until 2021–22. However, recent years have witnessed a substantial increase in outreach and registration.
In a major move towards transparency, the Chairman revealed that 50 fake benefit claims were detected during recent field inspections. These included:
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26 cases of fake registration,
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9 fraudulent benefit applications, and
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3 cases of using forged documents.
Further, during inspections by District Labour Welfare Officers, 12 more fraudulent cases were uncovered. FIRs have been filed at Barsar, Hamirpur, Sujanpur, and Bhoranj police stations to initiate legal action.
Kanwar assured that the Board will intensify on-ground inspections and take strict legal action against those misusing welfare benefits. He urged all eligible labourers to complete their e-KYC on time to avail benefits under various schemes.
Nurturing Creativity – Keekli Charitable Trust, Shimla
