Mumbai: Despite the labour class being hit with the current state of affairs, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government has been sitting on more than Rs 7,000 crore cess fund allotted for their welfare.
Taking up the matter, former labour minister Dr Sanjay Kute has written a letter to the state government, urging it to transfer Rs 5,000 per month (for the next three months) from the fund to each registered labourer as financial aid.
“We have received Dr Kute's letter. The state government is positive about his demand. It will soon take a decision in this regard,” said a senior official concerned on this subject to FPJ.
Each state has a Welfare Board for Building and Other Construction Workers. As per the Central Act, builders have to pay 1 per cent cess to this board for each of their projects. This 1 per cent excludes the land valueand is based on the total project cost.
Apart from this, the board also gets money from the total amount of interest on cess, labour registration fee, and labour annual subscription fees. “The board currently has a fund of Rs 7482.33 crore. Out of the 20 lakh registered labourers, more than 12 lakh labourers are currently active.
The state has their verified account details. During my tenure as labour minister, I started a scheme to directly transfer Rs 5000 to all the members, such as plumbers and electricians, to enable them to buy tool kits necessary for their work.
The MVA government stopped the implementation of this scheme after it assumed power. I have requested the state government to transfer Rs 5,000 per month to all these 12 lakh workers for the next three months.
This will help them face the challenges post the lockdown. For the last one week, I am following this matter with Labour Minister Dilip Walse Patil and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray,” Dr. Sanjay Kute told FPJ. He has also suggested to help the labourers registered under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
