Building workers' welfare in crisis: MP government under CAG scrutiny

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has uncovered serious financial irregularities in Madhya Pradesh's management of construction workers' welfare programs. According to the report, the state government has failed to properly implement the Building and Construction Worker Welfare Act of 2002.

The Act required the state to establish a dedicated board and collect a 1% cess on construction projects to create a welfare fund for workers. However, the CAG investigation found alarming deficiencies in the system's implementation. The welfare board has no office or full-time employees, and the government lacks even basic mechanisms to track construction workers employed on state projects.

Worker registration, mandatory under the law, has been virtually non-existent. Of 223 workers interviewed by the CAG team, only one was officially registered. Despite spending ₹18 crore on a registration drive, results were negligible, with the government unable to determine how many workers are employed in public construction projects.

Safety violations were rampant at construction sites visited by auditors. Workers were found labouring on tall buildings without helmets, proper footwear, safety belts, or safety nets. These violations have contributed to 18 worker fatalities, yet no proper inspection protocols or investigations have followed these accidents.

Financial mismanagement is equally troubling. The CAG discovered that millions in cess remained uncollected, while ₹2,543 crore of collected funds went unused. Additionally, ₹416 crore was diverted to other government schemes unrelated to worker welfare, including electricity bill programmes. When asked for beneficiary lists, the government could not provide documentation.

Another ₹80 crore spent on maternity assistance lacks utilisation certificates. Funds meant for workers' social needs were found to include fraudulent payments to unauthorised recipients.

Despite these serious findings highlighting corruption and mismanagement, mainstream media have largely ignored the report in the month since its release.

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