The Supreme Court has directed the States of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu and the Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep to implement the various schemes formulated for the welfare of the workers without any further delay.
A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice A.K. Patnaik and Justice Swatanter Kumar gave this direction on Tuesday on a batch of contempt petitions filed by National Campaign Committee for Central Legislation on Construction Labour alleging that all the States had failed to implement the provisions of the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulations of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 and the Building and other Construction Workers' Welfare Cess Act, 1996.
In its order, the Bench divided the States into three categories — States of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Tamil Nadu which had constituted Welfare Boards and collected some cess, had, however, not collected the required quantum of cess and had also not distributed the amount to the registered applicants.
The Bench said: “Before we take any action against the officers responsible for enforcing the schemes and proper collection and disbursement of cess, we would grant a last and final opportunity to these States to file affidavits of compliance within four weeks subject to payment of Rs.10,000 each, as costs. The cost shall be payable to the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee.”
The Bench said under Category-II would come the States of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu and Union Territories of Andaman and Nicobar, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep where the cess amounts had not been distributed to the applicants for the reason that the competent authority in the State government had not approved the welfare schemes or the welfare fund had not been constituted.
The Bench directed these States to ensure that the welfare fund was created and welfare schemes “are formulated and notified in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the Cess Act within four weeks. The welfare schemes framed by the respective States/Union Territories shall be given due publicity and be brought to the notice of the concerned workmen and eligible applicants by the district authority/sub-committee responsible.”
The Bench said the States of Kerala, Punjab, Nagaland and Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep would come in the third category “where the States/Union Territory which have not given any details of the schemes framed, reasons for its non-implementation and consequent non disbursement of the cess amounts.” The Bench directed them to publicise the schemes in six weeks and file an affidavit to the Court.
Giving general directions to all the States, the Bench said, “it is clear from the affidavits filed on behalf of most of the States and Union Territories that they are not holding meetings of the Welfare Board as required, i.e., at least once in two months, to discharge their statutory functions. Further, it is also apparent that audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has not been conducted of the funds placed at the disposal of the concerned authority. We may also notice that large funds are lying with the said welfare boards/authorities, but have not been disbursed. The possibility of these amounts being diverted by the State authority for other heads of expenditure in the respective States/Union Territories cannot be ruled out.”
The Bench said: “All the State Welfare Boards shall be subjected to audit by the CAG within two months; all the States, Union Territories and the State Boards to initiate the process and ensure its completion under the provisions of the Act; the funds available with the Welfare Boards which have not been disbursed or are not likely to be disbursed within a short period should be properly invested with the nationalized banks only. Funds available with the welfare boards shall not be utilized by the State for any other head of expenditure of the State Government. We make it clear that in the event of any default committed by any officer/official/authority, we will be compelled to take action against the officer/official/authority concerned under the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act without any further notice.”
