Patiala, July 24 -- The Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Welfare Board appeared to have given clearance to the state government's Mukh Mantri Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana in haste, as the proposal getting nod and approval orders being issued on the same day (June 6), according to documents accessed by HT. The Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday stayed the diversion of funds from the workers' welfare corpus to other schemes, including the flagship women cash dole scheme, launched on July 1. Documents reveal that the board's 31st meeting, chaired by chief minister Bhagwant Mann in his capacity as the ex-officio chairman of the welfare board, was held on June 6. The meeting approved the scheme's adoption, enabling the board to transfer welfare funds to the department of women and child development and social security to extend benefits to eligible female construction workers and their family members. The move has drawn sharp criticism from labour unions, which allege that the state government is attempting to divert the board's nearly Rs.2,000-crore welfare corpus, collected through construction cess exclusively for workers' welfare. Sardara Singh, president of the Dr Ambedkar Workers Union, Punjab, who filed a petition in the HC challenging the board's decision, said: "This has been done to divert labour welfare funds by the state government. It is completely illegal. We will not allow this to happen at any cost," he said. The meeting notice itself stated that the agenda would be circulated during the meeting, departing from the conventional practice of sharing it with members beforehand. Documents further show that the order approving the scheme was issued on the same day the meeting was held. The board has also not explained why it found it necessary to adopt the scheme separately when female construction workers and eligible members of their families were already covered under the state government's Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana. "After detailed discussion, the board approved the adoption of the scheme for those beneficiaries of the board, i.e. female workers or female members of workers' families (wherever eligible as per the scheme's eligibility conditions). All benefits shall be processed through the nodal department, i.e. the department of women and child development and social security, and the board can directly transfer the funds to the department," the minutes of the meeting read. The approval effectively authorises the welfare board to finance the scheme for its beneficiaries by transferring funds directly to the state government's nodal department. Questioned over the same-day approval to a matter that was not on the agenda of the (board) meeting, Manvesh Sidhu, principal secretary, labour department, said: "There is nothing wrong with this. Moreover, some issues are brought up during the meeting and approvals are given after discussion." The controversy has revived concerns over the utilisation of labour welfare funds. In 2021, the Punjab BOCW Welfare Board had spent Rs.4.59 crore to procure Covid-19 vaccines for registered construction workers, although that amount was subsequently reimbursed to the board. Labour rights activist Vijay Walia also questioned the legality of the move, citing the implementation of the four Labour Codes from November 21, 2025. He said that under Section 7(6)(i) of the Code on Social Security, 2020, state governments cannot introduce new welfare measures for building and construction workers unless such measures are prescribed or approved by the central government. He further argued that funds collected under the building and other construction workers' welfare legislation constitute a dedicated corpus and cannot be diverted for purposes beyond those permitted under the law....