ગુજરાતી
English
Serious negligence exposed in Independent Audit Committee of India –
Dilip Patel
Gandhinagar, 11 September 2025
The State Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (Board) was constituted by the State Government in December 2004 and later reconstituted from time to time. But instead of doing welfare of the workers, all the four BJP governments have resorted to ostrich policy to the builders and contractors to benefit the workers. The government is completely violating the laws. This has been revealed in the CAC report.
The audit continued till the Board was duly constituted in November 2017. Although almost five years have passed since November 2017, the one-member board was functioning without representatives of employers and workers till March 2022. Even after 7 years, i.e. in 2025, the Bhupendra Patel government has done nothing.
The state government will form a State Advisory Committee (SAC) to advise the government. The BJP government of Modi, Anandi, Rupani and Patel has not formed any advisory committee since 2011.
The board has not formed a welfare fund. The cess collected by the cess collector is deposited in the government account.
72 per cent of the regular posts of the board and 42 per cent of the posts of senior inspector or dish inspector were vacant. Separate posts of inspectors were not sanctioned in the district board offices.
Therefore, the schemes were disrupted.
The number of registered builders was 668 in 2017 which increased to 4,087 in 2022. It has increased to 5,000 in 2025.
No mechanism has been established for the management and authorization of construction activities. Which directly benefits the builders. Therefore, not all builders are able to get registered.
The construction map and instructions of the Government of India have not been followed regarding construction activities.
The Board has not conducted any survey to identify workers. No time limit has been set for disposal of applications for registration of construction workers. The control mechanism for registration of workers was found to be inadequate.
Workers from other trades apart from building and construction workers were also found to be registered.
Out of the grant of Rs 20 crore for awareness of workers during 2017-22, only Rs 2.82 crore (14 per cent) could be utilised till March 2022.
The government makes videos of the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister, but does not make videos of welfare schemes for workers.
The government does not release the amount due to the Board within thirty days of receipt. The government itself uses the workers’ money.
From 2006-07 to 2022-23, Rs 4,788 crore was deposited in the government account as cess. The government had given a grant of Rs 2,545 crore (53%) to the Board. The state government utilised Rs 2,243 crore (47%).
Cess not less than one per cent but more than two per cent of the construction cost is to be collected.
The state government was collecting cess at the rate of Rs 30 per square metre for super built-up area in 2006, which was later revised to cess at the rate of one per cent of the construction cost. Still, not even one per cent of the construction amount is collected. By doing this, the BJP government is benefiting contractors and builders.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation collected Rs 72 crore between March 2021 and March 2022. The amount of road cess was not deposited in the government account. The BJP government of Ahmedabad used it.
Since the formation of Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation of the state capital Gandhinagar, no account has been kept of the amount collected from the builders since March 2010. By September 2024, Rs 27.52 crore and Rs 28.42 crore were deposited in the government account for the year 2018-23, respectively.
When the accounts of 5 districts were checked in the year 2017-22, serious negligence came to light. 20 builders or contractors were found to have given the amount after 16 months.
Safety, health and welfare
If 50 or more workers are employed in building construction, it is necessary to have a written policy on the safety and health of the workers. When 50 contractors were checked, 19 of them had 50 or more workers employed, of which 6 had not prepared a written policy. The policy prepared by the remaining 13 organizations was incomplete.
Safety
A survey of 50 contractors and builders on how to provide safety to workers found major deficiencies, with 66% lacking overhead protection.
60% of workers were not provided with eye protection.
28% of workers were not provided with head protection.
64% of contractors did not keep fire extinguishers.
22 to 88% of sites lacked preparedness to deal with medical emergencies.
38% of builders did not provide temporary accommodation for workers.
The number of inspections of establishments in registered projects increased from 799 in 2017 to 3,378 in 2022. However, at least 2,146 (15 per cent) of the 14,295 registered establishments were never inspected by inspectors.
The number of inspections of establishments in registered projects increased from 799 in 2017 to 3,378 in 2022. However, at least 2,146 (15 per cent) of the 14,295 registered establishments were never inspected by inspectors. Builder and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel left labourers to die
Financial mess
Out of the Rs 2,544.81 crore grant given to the board by the state government,
the board spent Rs 808.49 crore or 32 per cent for welfare schemes, leaving behind Rs 100 crore
782.03 crore was allocated for administration and Rs 26.46 crore for the same.
As of March 2023, Rs 1,736.32 crore was lying unutilized with the board.
During 2017-22, 13 out of 31 schemes i.e. 42 per cent have been closed by the BJP governments.
There is a law to provide old age pension to beneficiaries aged 60 years. The implementation of this scheme was started by Vijay Rupan and Bhupendra Patel’s Builder V.
The government has stopped it since May 2019.
There is a provision to provide nutritious and quality food to construction workers and their families at subsidized rates. It is running in 9 districts, but during 2017-22 it was stopped in 24 districts. Due to which this scheme was started in 19 districts in 2024.
Nanaji Deshmukh Housing Scheme and Housing Subsidy Scheme were created to help build houses. Out of 10 lakh labourers in Gujarat, only 37 labourers got housing assistance from 2017-2022. No beneficiary is covered under the Housing Subsidy Scheme. Bhupendra Patel did nothing.
Corona scam
Rs 52 crore was declared in October 2020 to provide corona protection to seven municipal corporations. But the account of Rs 36 crore is not available till March 2023. Rs 12.50 crore remained unutilized in the other 3 municipal corporations, but no action was taken for the grant.
Dhanvantri Rath
Since September 2013, only 50 workers from selected 5 districts were getting the benefit of Dhanvantri Arogya Rath. Out of an estimated 10 lakh such workers in the construction sector, only 50 got this medicine.
Suggestion
1 – Form a full board immediately.
2 – Deposit builders’ amount or cess directly to the Board, not to the government or local governments.
3 – Fill up the vacant posts and inspectors’ posts in the Board immediately.
4 – Establish coordination between the Board and local planning or plan approval bodies.
5 – Make it mandatory to inform the registration authority while granting development permission or schedule of construction activity.
6 – Ensure implementation of Government of India’s instructions for mapping of construction activities.
7 – Stop registration of fake workers immediately.
8 – Set a time-limit for processing of applications.
9 – Create a system of depositing at least one percent of the actual cost of construction of buildings while issuing building permits.
10 – Implement safety, health and welfare measures for construction workers.
11 – Strengthen the system of regular inspection of construction sites. Make it satellite location based.
12 – Provide old age pension to workers.
13 – Implement Shramik Annapurna Yojana in 14 districts.
14 – Provide assistance for construction of houses for workers.
15 – Fix a limit for disposal of applications in the district office.
