Bihar to bear cost of transporting mortal remains of migrant workers
The Bihar government on Friday (June 19, 2026) announced that it will bear the cost of transporting the mortal remains of migrant workers to places
The Bihar government on Friday (June 19, 2026) announced that it will bear the cost of transporting the mortal remains of migrant workers to places of their permanent residences if they die in an accident while working outside the State or abroad. Labour Resources and Migrant Workers Welfare Department Additional Chief Secretary K. Senthil Kumar made the announcement at a press conference in Patna. Accompanied by Labour Commissioner Rajesh Bharti and Special Secretaries Sunil Kumar Yadav and Upendra Prasad, Mr. Kumar said the government has also decided to increase the ex gratia amount payable to the legally determined dependent(s) of a deceased migrant worker from ₹2 lakh to ₹4 lakh. Under the Bihar State Migrant Workers Accident Grant Scheme, 446 beneficiaries were given assistance amounting to ₹8.67 crore in the 2025-26 financial year, whereas in the current financial year (2026-27), 168 beneficiaries have so far been granted assistance of ₹3.35 crore.
The Bihar Migrant Worker App has been launched to collect data on migrant workers and formulate social security policies for them, Mr. Kumar said, adding that a total of 6,84,708 migrant workers have registered on the app as of June 10. The department has also entered into an agreement with NGO Prayas Juvenile Aid Centre for running ‘Special Residential Training Centres’ for rescued child labourers in Patna, Gaya, and Sitamarhi. In all, 1,054 child labourers were rescued during 2025-26, Mr. Kumar said, and added that for the rehabilitation of rescued child and adolescent labourers, ₹31.5 lakh received from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund was deposited as fixed deposits in the accounts of 126 beneficiaries during 2026-27. Additionally, immediate assistance of ₹3.09 lakh was given to 103 child labourers.
The officer said ₹8.30 lakh was also deposited in the District Child Labour Rehabilitation-cum-Welfare Fund for 166 child labourers. The Bihar Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, constituted for the welfare of construction workers, is currently implementing 16 welfare schemes for registered workers and their family members. A total of 42,31,405 construction workers have been registered with the Board. Of them, 11,06,086 were registered during 2025-26, while 4,131 workers have been registered till June 8 in 2026-27. Kumar said that the cess collected from government and private construction establishments is utilised for welfare schemes. During 2025-26, the Board received ₹755.56 crore as cess, while it received ₹115 crore up to June 8. Under various welfare schemes, assistance amounting to ₹1,119.83 crore was distributed to 15,48,658 beneficiaries in 2025-26, while the assistance amounting to ₹1.48 crore has been disbursed among 1,287 beneficiaries till June 10.
The BriefWire