Centre for Holistic Development - CHD

Consultation Round Table on Social Security and Welfare for Gig and Platform Workers : Uttar Pradesh State Social Security Board (UPSSB)

We at Gig Worker India, an initiative supported by Centre for Holistic Development (CHD)—a Delhi-based organisation working with marginalized and unorganised workers—are committed to organising gig workers, amplifying their voices, and ensuring their social and economic security. 🎯 हमारा उद्देश्य — गिग वर्कर्स को संगठित करना, उनकी आवाज़ बनना, और उन्हें सामाजिक व आर्थिक सुरक्षा दिलवाना है। 👉 एकजुट हों, जागरूक बनें, और बदलाव लाएं!

We were honoured to participate in the Consultation Round Table on Social Security and Welfare for Gig and Platform Workers, organised by the Uttar Pradesh State Social Security Board, Department of Labour, Government of Uttar Pradesh in collaboration with .

Held on 25 March 2026 in Lucknow, the consultation brought together policymakers, worker representatives, platform aggregators, and civil society organisations. It served as an important platform to reflect on the realities of the gig economy and identify critical policy and implementation gaps.
From a policy perspective, while large-scale registration through the e-Shram portal is a significant step, the gap between registration and actual access to social security benefits remains a key concern. With Uttar Pradesh’s estimated population at 241 million (2025) and over 31.5 crore workers registered nationally, the scale is immense. In Uttar Pradesh alone, registrations have increased from 8.30 crore (August 2023) to 8.43 crore (March 2026)—an addition of nearly 12.89 lakh workers in 32 months.

However, critical gaps persist:
Importantly, Gig Worker India also raised concerns around climate change and weather-related risks, as gig workers—especially in delivery and mobility sectors—continue to work under extreme heat, rainfall, and unsafe conditions without adequate protection or compensation.

👉 A ground reality from the consultation highlights the urgency: Mohammed Aizaz Ahmed (30), a resident of Ayodhya/Barabanki and a B.Com graduate, has been working as a carpenter for the past 10 years and recently entered the gig economy. Despite years of labour, he was neither registered on e-Shram nor under BOCW. During the consultation itself, through on-ground facilitation and dialogue, his registration was completed on both platforms (e-Shram ID generated).

While the process faced minor challenges—especially around payment interface issues—it reflects a larger systemic gap: workers remain outside welfare systems not due to unwillingness, but due to access and implementation barriers. Aizaz left the consultation satisfied, but his case is a reminder that millions are still waiting to be included.
At CHD, we believe the next phase must move beyond enumeration to effective inclusion, ensuring that workers not only register but actually receive portable, accessible, and meaningful social protection.

We appreciate the efforts of the organisers in enabling this dialogue and remain committed to advancing policies that protect the dignity, rights, and well-being of gig and platform workers.

Strengthening community systems through collaboration 🤝

Vulnerability Mapping, Identification & Action Group meeting in Gautam Buddh Nagar, bringing together diverse stakeholders committed to inclusive development.

Grateful for the partnership and insights shared by teams from Azim Premji Foundation at The Leprosy Mission Trust India , with local stakeholders, frontline workers, and community representatives. The discussions focused on identifying vulnerable populations, improving outreach strategies, and building coordinated action plans that truly leave no one behind.

These collective efforts are key to creating sustainable impact at the grassroots level. Looking forward to continued collaboration and action!

From Court Directions to Human Dignity in Action

In compliance with the directions of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi, the Centre for Holistic Development (CHD) has formally handed over 10 wheelchairs to the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) for deployment at night shelters serving needy and vulnerable persons.

This initiative emerged from judicial proceedings held on 24 January 2026 at the District Court Complex, Saket, and was later recorded by the Hon’ble High Court in W.P.(C) 380/2026 & CM APPL. 3166/2026. Pursuant to the Court’s directions and under Project Open Arms, the formal handover was completed on 06 February 2026.

These wheelchairs will support persons with mobility challenges residing in night shelters—strengthening access, dignity, and humane living conditions.

At Chd India, we believe that accessibility is not charity; it is a fundamental right. We remain committed to working alongside public institutions to translate judicial directions into meaningful social impact.

We express our sincere gratitude to the Hon’ble Courts, DUSIB, and all stakeholders for their cooperation and timely action in advancing the larger public interest.

Night shelters packed, patients, kin brave the cold outside hospitals

As Delhi shivers in a cold, with temperatures dipping to 4.6 degrees Celsius, 27-year-old Yashodha Kumari from Palamu, Jharkhand, waits each night for the shops in Ansari Nagar to close so she can quietly set up her makeshift camp and find a place to sleep while her husband receives treatment at AIIMS.

“The nights are getting chillier, but I don’t have any other option,” said Ms. Kumari. She keeps her one-year-old daughter wrapped in blankets to protect her from the cold. Her husband is being treated for a throat tumour at AIIMS, and the family has been in Delhi for over a week.

She is not alone. Hundreds of patients and their families unfurl blankets outside the AIIMS metro station, sleeping beneath the open sky. Many have journeyed from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand and Bihar, seeking affordable or free medical care, but with no means to pay for a roof over their heads.

Their ordeal deepened when rain fell on Friday night, leaving their clothes and blankets drenched.

Across the street, the temporary night shelters run by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board are packed to capacity, as is AIIMS’s ‘Vishram Sadan’ dormitory, which was built for patients and their families.

NGO volunteers visited the area around metro stations and suggested a shelter home in Geeta Colony, over 15 kilometres from AIIMS, where a handful of beds are available.
Sunil, 25, from Gaya in Bihar, has a kidney-related illness.“I prefer to stay near the hospital for regular appointments and check-ups,” he said.

‘Over 7,000 on roads’
The Centre for Holistic Development (CHD), a non-profit in Delhi, has written to Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda to request more makeshift tents and night shelters outside major hospitals in the city.

Sunil Kumar Aledia, executive director of CHD, wrote, “A grave humanitarian crisis is unfolding outside hospitals such as AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, and Lady Hardinge Medical College.”

Mr. Aledia said a team counted 7,882 people “compelled to sleep” outside hospitals in Delhi

He warned that these conditions expose people to hypothermia, respiratory illnesses, and a host of other health risks.
AIIMS officials said they have been encouraging patients to use the in-house shelters such as Vishram Sadan, which has 694 beds, and the ‘Ashray’ camp with 250 beds. However, a notice board outside Vishram Sadan on Friday night said the dormitories were full.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/night-shelters-packed-patients-kin-brave-the-cold-outside-hospitals/article70495907.ece

The Hindu Sunil Kumar Aledia Sunil Kumar Aledia Chd India

During the last one week, the Night Vigil Team of the Centre for Holistic Development (CHD) conducted a headcount across major hospitals in Delhi and found that 7,892 people were compelled to spend nights in the open—outside hospital buildings and within open hospital premises—while suffering from extreme cold. The highest concentration of such vulnerable patients and attendants was observed in the AIIMS–Safdarjung–Delhi Gate hospital zone.

In the AIIMS–Safdarjung area, one NBCC (India) Limited under the Corporate Social Responsibility tin-shed temporary shelter (capacity: 26 persons) has remained closed for over one year.

गत एक सप्ताह के दौरान सेंटर फॉर होलिस्टिक डेवलपमेंट (CHD) की नाइट विजिल टीम द्वारा दिल्ली के प्रमुख अस्पतालों Annexure-1 के आसपास किए गए सर्वेक्षण/हेड काउंट में यह पाया गया कि कुल 7,892 लोग अत्यधिक ठंड में अस्पताल परिसरों के बाहर एवं खुले परिसरों में रात्रि बिताने को विवश हैं। इनमें रोगियों के परिजन एवं सहायक सबसे अधिक संख्या में पाए गए। AIIMS–सफदरजंग–दिल्ली गेट क्षेत्र में इनकी गिनती सर्वाधिक दर्ज की गई।

AIIMS-सफदरजंग इलाके में, NBCC (इंडिया) लिमिटेड का कॉर्पोरेट सोशल रिस्पॉन्सिबिलिटी के तहत बनाया गया एक टिन-शेड वाला अस्थायी शेल्टर (क्षमता: 26 लोग) एक साल से ज़्यादा समय से बंद पड़ा है।