'Collect building cess from contractors'

Kurnool: The officials should collect without failing building cess from the builders and contractors for the welfare of the building and other construction workers, B Ramanjaneyulu, State Labour Commissioner said here on Thursday.

Addressing the district coordination committee meeting on Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Cess Act, 1996 at the collector's conference hall, Ramanjaneyulu said that the Supreme Court has given clear directions in this regard and the officials should be careful to collect the cess from the builders and contractors.

He told the officials to submit the report by the end of June on the works undertaken by various departments, how much money has been spent and how much time has been taken for completing the works. "The list of the building and other construction workers should be registered and welfare schemes should be made available to them," he said. He asked the officials to preserve the payslips of the constructions workers carefully.

The Commissioner said that the government has introduced welfare programmes with a view that the children of masons should not become masons. He said that the officials should list out the children of construction workers below 14 years and check what they have been doing for the sake of district child audit. "Kurnool district should become pilot in this respect," he said.

The cess collection details should be submitted before June 10, he added. "The children of construction workers who excelled in studies would be helped to pursue higher education, and the children who scored over 500 marks in the tenth class examination would be joined in the corporate colleges at the government expense," he said.