Which rules apply to a labour camp
For decades, two central laws shaped worker accommodation on Indian projects. The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, the BOCW Act, covers construction work and asks employers to provide welfare facilities such as drinking water, latrines and urinals, accommodation, first aid and canteens. The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 places similar welfare duties on contractors and, where they fail, on the principal employer.
Both laws are now subsumed in the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (the OSH Code), which the Government of India brought into effect in November 2025. Central rules under the Code were notified in 2026, and each state notifies its own rules for the establishments it regulates. Many tenders, contracts and HSE manuals still refer to BOCW and Contract Labour Act provisions, and some state BOCW rules remain the reference on site while the transition settles.
- —The labour law: the OSH Code and the rules made under it, read with any state BOCW rules still in use.
- —The state labour department, which registers establishments and inspects welfare facilities.
- —The client's or EPC contractor's HSE specification, which often goes further than the law and is checked at audits.
- —Local fire, health and pollution control norms for kitchens, water and waste.
What inspections commonly look for
The wording differs between laws, states and clients, but the checklist is remarkably consistent. The table below sets out what is commonly specified and how a prefabricated camp answers it.
| Requirement | What is commonly asked | How it is built |
|---|---|---|
| Sleeping space | Enough floor area and headroom per person, a bed for each worker, no overcrowding | Bunk rooms or dormitories sized to the client's per-person norm and headcount |
| Ventilation and light | Natural light and cross-ventilation, protection from heat, rain and insects | Windows on opposite walls, fans, high-level vents, insulated roof and walls, mesh on openings |
| Toilets and urinals | Enough seats for the number of workers, separate for men and women, kept clean | Toilet blocks and cabins sized to the norm, with separate entries for ladies and gents |
| Bathing and washing | Bathing places and washing areas with drainage | Toilet-cum-bath blocks and wash areas with sloped floors to drains |
| Drinking water | Safe, cool drinking water at convenient points, away from toilets | Drinking water points planned in the layout away from toilet and wash blocks |
| Canteen or mess | A canteen where the workforce is large, with a kitchen kept separate from sleeping rooms | Mess halls and kitchen blocks with washable surfaces and ventilation |
| First aid | First-aid boxes, and a first-aid room where the numbers call for it | A first-aid cabin or room in the camp layout |
| Fire safety | Escape routes, spacing between blocks, extinguishers and safe electrics | Spacing in the layout, two exits from larger rooms, protected wiring with enough sockets |
| Separation | Living areas kept apart from the work area, plant and stored materials | Camp sited and fenced apart from the work front, with its own gate and security cabin |
Where the law or the client gives a number, such as floor area per person or workers per toilet seat, take it from the current rule or the client's specification rather than from a previous project. The numbers differ between states and between clients, and an audit checks against the document that applies to your project.
Sleeping rooms, ventilation and light
Sleeping rooms draw the most attention because they are where crowding, heat and fire risk come together. Clients commonly ask for a stated floor area and headroom per person, a bed or bunk for each worker, lockable storage and a fan and light in each room. Many EPC specifications also cap the number of people per room and require a clear passage between bunks.
- —Windows on opposite walls for cross-ventilation, with insect mesh and shutters or glass for the rain.
- —Insulated wall and roof panels, so rooms stay habitable through an Indian summer.
- —A roof overhang or veranda that shades the walls and gives a dry place outside the room.
- —Lights in every room and along the lanes between blocks.
- —Enough sockets for each worker to charge a phone without improvised extension leads.
Where women workers or families are accommodated, rules and client norms commonly require separate rooms and separate toilets and bathing, with privacy from the men's blocks.
Toilets, bathing and drinking water
Sanitation is the most common audit finding on labour camps. The rules commonly ask for latrines and urinals in proportion to the number of workers, separate for men and women, within reach of the sleeping blocks, lit at night and kept clean. Bathing places and washing areas need proper drainage. Drinking water must be safe, marked and kept away from toilets and wash areas.
Prefabricated toilet blocks and toilet-cum-bath blocks are usually the quickest way to meet the count, because the seats, urinals, basins and plumbing are fitted in the factory. The septic tank, soak pit or sewer connection is built by the client or contractor on site. Bharat Portable Cabin does not supply bio toilets or FRP toilet units.
Canteen, first aid and rest
- —A canteen or mess where the headcount calls for one, with a kitchen kept apart from sleeping rooms and a separate food store.
- —First-aid boxes in the camp, and a first-aid room or cabin with space for a visiting doctor on larger camps.
- —Rest shelters with shade and drinking water near the work front, which many client specifications require separately from the camp.
- —A creche where women workers are employed in the numbers the rules set, planned with the client's HSE team.
Fire safety and separation from the work area
Client HSE teams look closely at fire risk in labour camps because many people sleep in one place. They commonly ask for clear spacing between blocks, two exits from larger rooms, escape routes kept free, extinguishers at marked points, cooking only in the kitchen and electrics protected at the distribution board. Fire-resistant, cement-based wall panels such as Aerocon add margin.
The camp should also be kept apart from the work area, plant, fuel and stored materials, with its own fence, gate and security cabin, so workers do not sleep within reach of construction hazards and visitors do not wander into the work front.
How we build to the client's norm
Bharat Portable Cabin does not interpret the law for you, and we do not issue compliance certificates. What we do is build the camp to the specification you hand over. Share the client's camp specification or HSE manual, the peak headcount and the site plan, and we size the bunk rooms, toilet blocks, mess and first-aid cabins to match it.
- 01You share the client specification, the state requirements your compliance team has confirmed, the headcount and the site plan.
- 02We propose the blocks: bunk rooms or dormitories, toilet and bath blocks, mess, first aid, office and security cabin.
- 03Drawings show room sizes, occupancy, windows, toilet counts and electrical points, so the HSE team can check them before fabrication.
- 04Blocks are built at our factory in Umbergaon, Gujarat, and delivered to site for installation on the foundations your team prepares.
- 05Water, drainage, septic tank and power connections on site are made by your contractor to the points we mark.
Because the blocks are modular, the same camp can be dismantled and set up again on your next project. When it moves, check the new state's rules and the new client's specification again before reusing the layout.