SC seeks compliance report from states on construction workers

SC seeks compliance report from states on construction workers The Supreme Court has asked state govt to place before it the compliance report on implementation of laws for constitution of welfare boards to monitor social security schemes and welfare measures for building and construction workers. A bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan granted six weeks to them to file their response and posted the matter for further hearing in August. The court also asked those states which had not replied to the notice issued in 2006 to file their counter affidavit to the petition pointing out non-implementation of the Building and other Construction Workers (Regulations of Employment and Condition of Service) Act, 1996 and the Building and other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996. The office report of the apex court placed before the bench said that Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Haryana have not responded to the notice. Among the Union Territories, Daman and Diu, NCT of Delhi, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Pondicherry, Lakshadweep and Chandigarh had not filed their response. The PIL filed by an NGO, National Campaign Committee for Central Legislation on Construction Labour (NCC-CL), alleged that despite the law being there since ten years neither the Centre nor the state governments have implemented the law in letter and spirit. Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the NGO, said as construction is India's second largest industry where workers are prone to accidents, the constitution of welfare boards as per the Act was mandatory as only then the social security schemes and welfare measures could be implemented. The counsel said the implementation of the laws will help to collect cess and registration of the workers for the grant of benefits. The NGO has sought a direction for constituting an expert committee to advise on matters relating to the framing of rules under the Act.

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