Registration of construction workers for welfare schemes fail miserably in Gujarat
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has slammed Gujarat government for its slackness in implementing welfare schemes for construction workers in the state. The infrastructure and construction sector is one of the biggest employers in Gujarat.
The audit-watch dog has claimed that only 6 % of an estimated 12 lakh construction workers in Gujarat are registered. The government had launched this scheme quite some time back to bring the unorganised construction sector under the ambit of registration. This slackness of the Gujarat government has resulted in depriving a large number of workers from the benefits of about eight welfare schemes.
CAG noted in a recent report tabled in the Gujarat Assembly that only 69,971 workers or six % of the construction workers were registered during the year 2008-13. It is estimated that there are approximately 12 lakh construction workers in the state (March 2012).
The report also pointed to a decreasing trend in the numbers of those being registered in the state. This is not a promising trend as the number of registrations should increase with time. The audit observed that the state government had not conducted any survey or devised any system to ascertain the actual number of establishments and eligible beneficiaries in the state.
What is more depressing is that from over 23,100 workers registered in 2008-09, the numbers have steadily fallen to 4,900 in 2012-13.
Source- The Financial Express
Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Construction, infrastructure and construction sector, Registration, welfare schemes, Workers
