A.P. Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board Chairman S. Gopal has expressed concern over non-payment of labour cess by some government departments and contractors.
As per GO.111, all the government departments and local bodies should pay one per cent labour cess on the total cost of the work taken up by them. Similarly, under GO.112, the private contractors should pay cess on all the constructions.
But, the orders were not being implemented properly and many of them are evading tax totalling some crores of rupees every year, he said.
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Addressing a press conference in Vijayawada on Monday, Mr. Gopal said in some government offices, the accounts officers deducted labour cess on the works allotted to contractors, but had not remitted the amount to Labour Department.
Many builders approached the court and the Labour Department officials were making efforts to get the stay orders vacated. Due to lack of coordination between various government departments and shortage of staff in the Labour Department, the GOs were not being implemented strictly, he said.
About 16 lakh workers were registered in the State and the Board had about Rs.1,000 crore funds. The officials were instructed to take up intensive campaign on registration of fresh workers and renewals and collect cess from all departments, he added.
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“As of now, only 60 per cent of the workers were registered. We have set a target of getting 25 lakh workers registered in the State and increase the fund quantum to Rs.2,000 crore by next year”, said Mr. Gopal.
Krishna district Deputy Commissioner of Labour (DCL) S.Y. Srinivas said the officials were organising awareness camps on maternity benefit, marriage, disability and accidental death benefits for the workers who get registered under the A.P. Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board.
MLC Ilapuram Venkaiah and Assistant Commissioner of Labour K. Vijay Bhaskar Reddy were present.