The Tribune: Chandigarh: Monday, April 30, 2018.
The state
governments in the country collected more than Rs 37,000 crore as cess for
welfare of construction workers over the years. But when it came to its
spending, most of the states seem to have shied away.
According to
an RTI information obtained by a Ropar-based activist, Dinesh Chadha, till June
2017, all 29 states and seven union territories had collected Rs 37,482 crore
as cess under the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Act. However,
only Rs 9,491 crore was spent on workers’ welfare.
Under the
Act, the state governments have to constitute boards for welfare of
construction workers, which collect the cess and then spend on various schemes
related to workers’ welfare. As per the Act, any individual constructing a
building is liable to pay cess at the rate of one per cent of the total cost of
construction to the board. There are 2.77 crore workers enrolled with various
state boards in the country.
As far as
performance of individual states and UTs is concerned, only West Bengal,
Mizoram, Manipur, Kerala and Puducherry seem to have taken the welfare of
workers seriously. All these states spent more than 50 per cent of the cess
collected for the purpose.
Kerala is the
only state to spend more than 100 per cent of the collections. The state spent
Rs 1,579 crore on workers’ welfare against the collection of Rs 1,535 crore.
Chadha, who
is campaigning for labour rights, said it was ironical that on the one hand,
workers were dying in absence of basic needs while on the other, a lot of money
collected for their welfare remained unspent. “It shows how sensitive our
governments are for the welfare of the workers,” he said.
About the
scheme
In the event
of accidental death, a registered beneficiary’s family is given Rs 4 lakh while
Rs 3 lakh is given if it is a natural death
In the event
of 100 per cent disability, the beneficiary is provided with a relief of Rs 4
lakh. In case of partial disability, the compensation is proportionate to the
disability of the beneficiary
Besides,
children of registered construction workers are given uniform
allowance/education allowance. A shagun of Rs 31,000 each is given for the
marriage of two daughters
Punjab an
average performer
Punjab
collected Rs 1,029 crore as cess for workers’ welfare, but spent just Rs 496
crore, which is even less 50 per cent of the total collection. Nearly 6.1 lakh
workers were enrolled with the board. Though the state is better than others, a
report prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India two years ago
had revealed that Punjab’s performance was poor when it came to spending funds
on the welfare of workers.
.JPG)
.JPG)
