Chennai, Tamil Nadu Construction Workers Welfare Board (TNCWWB) has not initiated effective measures to bring in inter-state migrant workers, a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said on Saturday.
None of the estimated 1.45 lakh inter-state migrant construction workers were registered with the TNCWWB, according to the CAG Performance Audit on Welfare of Tamil Nadu Construction and Other Construction Workers for the year 2024 .
The implementation of social assistance schemes for the benefit of registered workers suffered due to abnormal delays in the processing of applications submitted by registered workers.
"Lack of clarity in the implementation of the scheme had led to benefits being extended to potentially ineligible persons. Lack of due diligence had led to benefits not being extended to a large number of beneficiaries during the COVID pandemic -19 and, simultaneously, a significant number of beneficiaries received assistance more than once," states the report presented at the Assembly.
Significant shortcomings in the achievements of the Mission Mode Project, launched by the Government of India, contributed to shortcomings in the implementation of welfare schemes.
The report said TNCWWB did not maintain a database of assessed, collected and remitted Cess and therefore lacked a system to determine the quantum and timely assessment of Cess.
"The audit found significant deficiencies in the registration of Establishments/Employers by the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH), which negatively affected the extent of data sharing with TNCWWB to ensure the evaluation of the Layoff," it said. .
The audit found significant undervaluation of the cost of construction by building permit applicants, and local agencies required to collect the Labor Tax at the time of approving building permits did not have a system to ensure the accuracy of the value. construction estimate.
Despite the creation of TNCWWB in 1994, significant deficits persisted in the registration process for unorganized construction workers.
"The manual, as well as the electronic data of registered workers, had significant deficiencies. Inaccuracies in capturing vital data such as Aadhaar number, mobile phone number and bank account number of registered workers compromised the quality of the registration database," he said.
Failure to identify eligible construction workers through a proper survey had resulted in a significant number of workers being unregistered.
The CAG made 20 recommendations, including asking the government to ensure that TNCWWB maintains an updated database of all institutions and establishments submitting Cess and lays down guidelines for estimating the construction cost of buildings for which the Building permits are approved by local agencies, and TNCWWB must ensure compliance. to the guidelines.
None of the estimated 1.45 lakh inter-state migrant construction workers were registered with the TNCWWB, according to the CAG Performance Audit on Welfare of Tamil Nadu Construction and Other Construction Workers for the year 2024 .
The implementation of social assistance schemes for the benefit of registered workers suffered due to abnormal delays in the processing of applications submitted by registered workers.
"Lack of clarity in the implementation of the scheme had led to benefits being extended to potentially ineligible persons. Lack of due diligence had led to benefits not being extended to a large number of beneficiaries during the COVID pandemic -19 and, simultaneously, a significant number of beneficiaries received assistance more than once," states the report presented at the Assembly.
Significant shortcomings in the achievements of the Mission Mode Project, launched by the Government of India, contributed to shortcomings in the implementation of welfare schemes.
The report said TNCWWB did not maintain a database of assessed, collected and remitted Cess and therefore lacked a system to determine the quantum and timely assessment of Cess.
"The audit found significant deficiencies in the registration of Establishments/Employers by the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH), which negatively affected the extent of data sharing with TNCWWB to ensure the evaluation of the Layoff," it said. .
The audit found significant undervaluation of the cost of construction by building permit applicants, and local agencies required to collect the Labor Tax at the time of approving building permits did not have a system to ensure the accuracy of the value. construction estimate.
Despite the creation of TNCWWB in 1994, significant deficits persisted in the registration process for unorganized construction workers.
"The manual, as well as the electronic data of registered workers, had significant deficiencies. Inaccuracies in capturing vital data such as Aadhaar number, mobile phone number and bank account number of registered workers compromised the quality of the registration database," he said.
Failure to identify eligible construction workers through a proper survey had resulted in a significant number of workers being unregistered.
The CAG made 20 recommendations, including asking the government to ensure that TNCWWB maintains an updated database of all institutions and establishments submitting Cess and lays down guidelines for estimating the construction cost of buildings for which the Building permits are approved by local agencies, and TNCWWB must ensure compliance. to the guidelines.
