Fuel companies may provide free life cover to unorganised workforce under CSR funds

In a thought for the welfare of auto and taxi drivers, the Central government is mulling a proposal to use a major chunk of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds of fuel companies to provide free insurance cover to the workforce in the unorganised sector across the country.

According to sources, the proposal is being discussed between Employee's State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The proposal states that the CSR funds of fuel companies will be provided to ESIC and the government will also contribute an equal amount for free insurance cover to auto and taxi drivers in various metros and cities.

The proposal initiated by the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), the largest right-wing trade union was reportedly discussed by Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas with senior officers of ESIC including Director General. "Pradhan has approved the project and it is now pending with Deepak Kumar, the Director General of ESIC," said Pawan Kumar, Zonal Secretary of BMS. "We have suggested it's first implementing in Delhi on a pilot project basis and then spreading it in the entire country," he added.

The scheme envisages in providing 'monetization of medical leave' to all the auto and taxi drivers in the unorganised sector. "If a driver is unable to work owing to illness or accident, his family is forced to strive. We have suggested providing him with an optimum amount during the period of medical inefficacy," he said. Besides, the scheme also includes medical insurances, referral services, and causality insurance.

"The fuel companies are running several schemes for auto and taxi drivers which often overlap and are non-effective. If the entire CSR funds of these companies are channelized in a single project, it will be a sea change in the welfare of the drivers who are a part of the unorganised sector," he added.

Counting in the four metros of India– Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai, there is around 5.7 lakh auto drivers out of which nearly one lakh are registered in Delhi alone. In the first phase, the BMS wants CNG distributors in Delhi and also NCR to bear the burden of the premium for insurance through their CSR funds. Next, oil companies like Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum will be encouraged to channelize their CSR funds for the scheme.