The situation has prompted the Union Minister of Labour & Employment Shri Mallikarjun Kharge to say that the States are being asked to take effective steps to implement the various welfare provisions of the Building and other Construction Workers (RECS) Act, 1996.
Addressing the Parliamentary Consultative Committee meeting of his Ministry Shri Kharge said that the States have collected Rs. 2270 crore as cess and spent Rs 638 crore on the welfare schemes for building and other construction workers under the RECS Act. He said that so far 52 lakh workers have been registered with the Welfare Boards of the States across the country.
Giving details about the implementation of the Act, the responsibility for which lies with the respective States, Shri. Kharge said that as of now, 33 States/ UTs have notified Rules under the Act, 30 have constituted Welfare Boards, 31 have notified implementing/cess collecting authorities, 27 have constituted State Advisory Committees and only 16 have formulated the welfare schemes.
The Labour Minister expressed the hope that remaining States would not lag behind and start implementing the welfare provision of the RECS Act at the earliest.
In a presentation made before the Committee Members, it was informed that a Special Group has been constituted under the Chairmanship of Union Labour Secretary, which holds region-wise meetings with the State officials to emphasize the urgency and importance for the effective implementation of the Act. Already, 18 region-wise meetings have been held by the Special Group in different parts of the country. The issue of effective implementation of the Act was also discussed at the recently held Labour Ministers' Conference and it was impressed upon the States that concerted efforts need to be made for speedy implementation of the Act to ensure that workers can avail benefits under the Act and expenditure on welfare scheme is enhanced.
The Building and other Construction Workers (RECS) Act, 1996 aims at providing safety and health measures for the construction and other workers, regulate the employment and conditions of service and makes provisions for social security and welfare measures. The Central Rules including the Safety Rules under the Act were framed in 1998 by the Central Government and these were forwarded to the States to treat them as “Model Rulesâ€. Notification of collection of Cess @ 1% was issued on 26.09.1996.
Participating in the discussion, the members emphasized the need of constant vigil on the implementation of the Act by the States and suggested that the Centre should keep monitoring the implementation status. Some Members also suggested that there should be a penal provision in the Act to punish those employers who do not abide by the provisions made in the RECS Act.
The Members who attended the meeting were :- S/Sh. R. K. Singh Patel, Kamlesh Paswan, N. Peethambara Kurup, Badri Ram Jakhar, Mohammed Amin, Narayan Singh Kesari.
India
Govt's welfare schemes are gimmicks, not targetted to the needy
Huge amounts being collected in the name of welfare but spent a meagre
Special Correspondent - 2010-02-19 11:40
New Delhi: Allocation of funds by the Governments in India for welfare of the citizens is a politically rumunerative pastime. In real terms, the spending of funds, however, seems to be too difficult for our political establishment at the centre as well as states. This mindset of the politicians and bureaucrats has led us to a situation in which only 28 percent of the welfare fund out of the collected as cess is being spent on the needy.