Apex court seeks clarification on labour welfare fund’s use

A contempt petition to the Supreme Court states that while a mammoth fund of nearly Rs 5,000 crore is available with the Union government, it is not being utilised for the benefit of construction workers as per the provisions of the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996.

The contempt is being sought because the government has allegedly not complied with an earlier Supreme Court order directing the Union government and state governments to comply with the provisions of the Act.

If that much fund is available, what happened to it and why is it not being used? In the last hearing, in front of the bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Maninder Singh, appearing on behalf of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), had said that he would file an affidavit giving the latest status with regard to the audit of the funds.

On April 12, ASG Singh submitted the affidavit. Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves argued that almost Rs 5,000 crore is at stake and it is not being utilised for the earmarked purpose.

The court ordered the government to file a detailed report on where all the money has been transferred. It gave the respondent three weeks to file the same.

The next date of hearing is May 8.

—By India Legal Bureau