Construction staff: To keep away from welfare fund misuse, states instructed to make use of DBT, halt in-kind profit

Taking observe of some states utilizing development staff’ welfare cess fund for distribution of lantern, blankets, umbrellas, home goods, toolkits, utensils resulting in “leading to the apprehension of misuse/leakage of cess fund”, the Directorate General Labour Welfare below the Ministry of Labour and Employment has issued instructions to all states to not present any in-kind profit and provides any financial help to solely by Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
“It has come to the notice of the Ministry that some State Welfare Boards are incurring expenditure on distribution of lantem, blankets, umbrellas, household items, tool-kits, utensils and similar other articles in-kind, leading to the apprehension of misuse/ leakage of cess fund,” an official order dated March 22 stated.
“Any monetary assistance under the welfare schemes are to be provided through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) only in the beneficiary’s bank account…no benefit is to be provided in-kind except in extraordinary circumstances such as natural calamities, epidemics, fire, accidents caused due to occupational hazard or similar other crisis, and with prior approval of the State Government and intimation to DG Labour Welfare, Govt Of India,” it additional stated.
The Indian Express had final week reported the Central Building and Other Construction Workers’ Advisory Board, an arm of the Union Labour Ministry, flagging a number of circumstances of ‘misuse’ of cash from the Building and Other Construction Workers’ (BOCW) Welfare Fund. Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand had been amongst states that had been despatched missives by the Central Advisory Board on the misuse of funds for buy and distribution of things resembling utensils, umbrellas, lanterns and cycles, as a substitute of tangible contingency measures resembling cash transfers.

The Advisory Board is learnt to have flagged the acquisition of chrome steel utensils by a young course of by the Maharashtra authorities, the distribution of umbrellas and lanterns was red-flagged in Himachal Pradesh.
The BOCW Act stipulates that the Welfare Board present fast help to a beneficiary in case of an accident, make fee of pension to the beneficiaries who’ve accomplished the age of 60 years, sanction loans and advances to a beneficiary for development of a home, pay quantity in reference to premia for group insurance coverage scheme of the beneficiaries and monetary help for the training of kids of the beneficiaries, medical bills and maternity profit to the feminine beneficiaries.

Last March, after the imposition of the lockdown to mitigate the affect of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Centre had requested states to make use of funds of round Rs 31,000 crore of their respective state development employee welfare funds below the BOCW Cess Act for 3.5 crore registered staff. The newest out there authorities knowledge for state-wise breakup of registered BOC staff confirmed Uttar Pradesh having the best share of such staff at 48.5 lakh, adopted by West Bengal at 31.01 lakh.
An advisory was issued by the Labour Ministry on March 24, 2020 to all states/UTs to supply monetary help to BOC staff through direct profit switch (DBT) from the BOCW Welfare Fund maintained by them. Most state governments gave out grants between Rs 1,000 and 5,000 monthly to registered BOC staff.