CHANDIGARH, July 6 — Raising alarm over what appears to be a massive welfare scam involving fake worker registrations, Haryana Labour Minister Anil Vij has ordered statewide physical verification of work receipts submitted by registered construction workers. The move comes after startling revelations suggested that a scam worth several hundred crores of rupees may have been unfolding under the guise of labour welfare schemes.
“It has come to light that a large number of work receipts submitted to claim benefits were falsified, and the scale of this irregularity indicates organised corruption,” Vij said at a press briefing on Sunday.
The Haryana government runs multiple welfare schemes for building and other construction workers, including aid for medical expenses, education, and marriage. However, eligibility requires registration with the labour board, which in turn mandates proof of 90 days of work.
According to official records, between August 2023 and March 2025, a staggering 11,96,759 work receipts were verified — a number the minister termed impossible to process authentically. In a telling example, a Gram Sachiv in Hisar reportedly verified 84,741 applications in just three months, with a peak of 2,646 verifications in a single day. Similarly, a labour inspector in Faridabad processed over 2,700 receipts, 1,918 of which belonged to Sonepat district.
“Just the numbers themselves prove the verifications were fake. It seems a racket is being run across the state,” said Vij. “People who have never worked in construction are being registered to gain benefits, and many of them are linked to a particular political party,” he added, though he did not name the party.
As per the minister, verified beneficiaries under the scheme were found to be receiving government funds despite not meeting eligibility criteria, hinting at collusion between officials and middlemen.
In response, the Labour Department has initiated action. A three-member committee was constituted to probe work receipts submitted between November 1, 2024, and January 31, 2025 in Hisar, Kaithal, Jind, Sirsa, Faridabad, and Bhiwani. The probe revealed widespread irregularities, prompting further orders for physical verification of work slips in all districts.
“All Deputy Commissioners across Haryana have been instructed to form three-member district committees to scrutinise the work receipts and submit detailed reports within three months,” Vij said.
He added that the state’s Advocate General has been directed to initiate criminal proceedings against those found guilty. “This is not a clerical error or oversight — this is fraud,” he said, terming it a betrayal of public funds meant for the state’s poorest workers.
Sources within the Labour Department hinted that fake receipts were being generated and registered en masse from a few centralised locations, with some applications even listing non-existent construction sites or unverifiable work histories.
“This raises a question on how benefits have been systematically diverted away from genuine labourers and into the hands of imposters,” a senior official said on condition of anonymity.
Minister Vij made it clear that no one would be spared, including government employees who may have enabled or ignored the fraudulent registrations.
“The guilty will face criminal action, and we are determined to recover every rupee siphoned off. We owe it to the real workers of Haryana,” he said.
With lakhs of registrations now under scrutiny, the probe may emerge as one of the largest welfare audits in the state’s history.
