Hyderabad: A national civil society alliance has written to Telangana Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy demanding immediate and legally enforceable measures to protect informal workers from extreme heat, warning that inaction would amount to a violation of their fundamental rights.
The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), Telangana, in its letter dated Wednesday, May 20, acknowledged the state government’s recently released Heat Wave Action Plan 2026 but said it fell short of addressing the specific vulnerabilities of lakhs of workers, including street vendors, construction workers, waste pickers, sanitation workers, delivery workers and domestic workers who work in open or poorly ventilated conditions with little protection from rising temperatures.
“Informal workers are essential to the functioning of our cities and communities. Heat protection is not a welfare measure; it is a legal and moral obligation of the State and employers,” the letter said, adding that failure to act would constitute a violation of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
Citing an Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) warning of above-normal heatwave days this summer and a National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) advisory from June last year on protecting informal workers during heatwaves, NAPM laid out a four-part framework of demands covering governance, heat protection measures, social security and accountability.
On governance, the alliance asked that heatwaves be officially notified as an occupational hazard under labour and disaster management frameworks, that informal workers be designated a priority group in the state Heat Action Plan and that a nodal department be assigned accountability for implementation. It also sought district and city-level heat preparedness plans within 30 days and mandatory inclusion of worker representatives in Urban Local Body committees.
On ground-level protection, NAPM demanded guaranteed access to drinking water, rest breaks, shaded areas and sanitation at all major worksites, the establishment of cooling and hydration centres at markets, labour gathering points and transport hubs and free heat protection kits as an entitlement rather than a one-time distribution. It also sought legally mandated modification of working hours during heatwave alerts without wage cuts.
On social security, the alliance called for mandatory compensation for wage loss on officially declared heatwave days, recognition of heat-related illness and death as compensable occupational injury with automatic rather than claim-based compensation, and the creation of a statutory Heat Relief Fund with clear eligibility criteria and a grievance redress mechanism.
On accountability, NAPM asked for daily public reporting of heat-related illnesses and deaths, independent social audits with worker organisation participation, and a public end-of-season heat accountability report.
The letter also demanded an immediate moratorium on eviction drives, livelihood confiscations and punitive enforcement actions against informal workers during peak summer months and declared heatwave periods, calling any such action during extreme heat conditions a threat to life and livelihood.
This post was last modified on May 20, 2026 7:51 pm