The Contested Policy Space: Case Study of Development of Social Protection Policies for Unorganised Construction Sector

Abstract

Abstract One of the primary challenges of policy making is that policies are often made as a response to a conceptualised social problem, where the problem identification often becomes central to the nature of policy that is formulated. Furthermore due to the fact that policies are broader in principle than the legal enactments that operationalizes it, or that seeks to operationalize it, the real world success of it also depends on the extent of a policy vision that gets translated into law and subsequently into legal entitlements. In other words, the real world success of a certain policy that is aimed at a recognised policy problem is often limited by the act of legislating a policy solution and the ingenuity and imagination of the one that codifies a policy vision into law. This is because even if the normative and conceptual understanding of the policy problem resembles reality closely, it is only through a competent and effective codification that best factors in, the concerns of implementation, that a policy solution through legal protection and entitlements can come closest to meeting its policy objectives. Moreover, it is important to acknowledge the fact that the space for policymaking isn‟t value neutral or free from political considerations. In fact, the policy making space is heavily contested, due to the presence of divergent interest groups, which even when they may share common interests have varying understanding of a policy problem and therefore varying beliefs on an ideal policy solution, based on relative interests and institutional biases. The primary aim of this research therefore is to explore through a theoretical study the nature of policy development for two related social protection legislations in the country, „The Building And Other Construction Workers (Regulation Of Employment And Conditions Of Service) Act, 1996‟ and (BOCWA)„The Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996‟ (BOCWWCA), both of which is aimed at Social Protection of one the largest sectorial employers in this country, almost all of which is in the informal space. This theoretical study therefore seeks to explore the development of the policy through sustained research of primary and secondary sources, which includes, interviews as well as archived communication records between different stakeholders, most of which is not readily available in the public domain. Through this effort, it is expected that knowledge relevant for this particular policy and for social policies in general in India, pertaining the policy concerns expressed already can be generated.