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HomeIndiaBihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh did not release a rupee for construction workers during...

Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh did not release a rupee for construction workers during lockdown

Thirty states and UTs disbursed cash relief worth Rs 4,957 cr to approximately 2 cr construction workers registered under the Building and Construction Workers Welfare Fund. Cash disbursed ranged between Rs 1,000 to Rs 6,000 per worker.

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New Delhi: Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are the three states that did not release a penny for construction workers during the lockdown from the Building and Construction Workers Welfare Fund.

Among the union territories Puducherry, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli also did not give any cash relief to construction workers.

According to figures released by the Union labour and employment ministry Tuesday, until 16 June, 30 states and union territories have disbursed cash assistance to the tune of Rs 4,957 crore to approximately two crore construction workers across India from the fund, which has a total corpus of Rs 31,000 crore.

States can provide cash benefits ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 6,000 per worker from the fund. Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh gave Rs 1,000 to construction workers while Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu gave Rs 2,000 per worker. Only a handful of states and UT’s gave cash ranging between Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000 per worker. While Punjab, Goa and Chandigarh gave Rs 6,000 per worker, Delhi, Karnataka and Haryana gave Rs 5,000 per worker.

The Building and Construction Workers Welfare fund is raised by state governments by levying a cess of 1% of construction cost and is part of the Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Act, 1996, which regulates the employment and working condition of construction workers and provides for their safety and welfare measures.


Also read: Modi govt’s latest outreach for migrant workers — Shramik Setu portal and app


While announcing the Rs 1.7 lakh crore relief package for the poor a day after the lockdown came into force on 25 March, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had asked states to use the Rs 31,000 crore cess collected under the fund to provide relief to construction workers registered with the state welfare boards.

There are approximately 5 crore building and other construction workers in India, according to government estimates. Over 2 lakh construction workers are not registered with the state boards on account of the migratory nature of their work, changing work sites, low levels of literacy and awareness.

Among the three states that did not disburse a penny, Bihar has 13.4 lakh construction workers who are registered, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have 9.6 lakh and 18.9 lakh registered workers respectively.

A senior labour ministry official who did not want to be named said they had raised the matter with the three states. “The state government officials said they had provided shelter and other relief material to construction workers who were facing difficulties because of the lockdown,” the official said.

Jharkhand, for instance, gave food, ration kit and shelter kits worth Rs 5,875 to construction workers in the state.

Union labour minister Santosh Gangwar had issued an advisory to states as early as 24 March, a day before the lockdown came into force, to all the chief ministers to frame a scheme under section 22 (1) (h) of the Act, for transfer of adequate funds in the bank accounts of construction workers through direct benefit transfer.

The advisory was issued to help mitigate the financial crisis faced by construction workers, a government statement issued Tuesday said.


Also read: How a small Delhi group helped over 4,200 migrant workers reach home in UP, Bihar, Jharkhand


 

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1 COMMENT

  1. In Andhra Pradesh also Construction Board did not release a penny to 20 lakh registered workers with the Board. How can GoI issues a statement without ascertaining the fact.

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