Issuing notices to the ministries of Home Affairs and Labour, Delhi Government, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and City Police Commissioner, a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice S N Variava and Justice S K Mahajan directed these authorities to file replies by July 13, when the matter will come up for hearing again.

The public interest writ filed by All India Lawyers Union (AILU) said there was no security for construction works in the Capital and alleged that no compensation had been paid so far to 10 labourers who died in a building collapse at local Malkaganj Colony on June 22 and to 35 injured in the incident.

The petition moved by AILU counsel Ashok Agarwal said though state Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit hadannounced a relief of Rs 50,000 to the kin of each deceased and Rs 25,000 to each injured, the amount was yet to be paid to them.

As Agarwal sought direction to municipal authorities to provide free medicines to the injured labourers saying that despite prescription by the doctors, the hospital authorities were not providing these, the court said "let the government first file reply".

The petition said that Delhi Government had not even constituted the State Welfare Board as required under the Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996. The Act provides that the employer has to contribute one per cent "cess" of the total construction cost to the Workers' Welfare Fund.

"Every establishment where 500 or more building workers are ordinarily employed, an employer under the Act is required to constitute a safety committee comprising of representatives of the employer and the workers as may be prescribed by the state government," it said.

Unfortunately the DelhiGovernment had failed to create such welfare funds for the workers and frame rules required under the Act for their safety, the petitioner said, adding that no amount had been collected from the builders as "cess" by the state government.