Construction welfare cess till Dec 2016 totals Rs 31,734 crore

As much as Rs 31,734 crore have been collected as construction workers' welfare cess by states and UTs up to December 31, 2016, Parliament was informed today.
Out of this, Rs 6,872.51 crore has been spent, a labour ministry statement said. The cess has been levied and is being collected at 1 per cent of the cost of construction as notified by the central government in the official gazette.
The Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Cess Act, 1996, provides for levy and collection of cess at such rate not exceeding 2 per cent, but not less than 1 per cent of the cost of construction as the central government may notify.

The cess at the rate is collected by states and Union Territories and utilised for the welfare of building and other construction workers by the State Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Boards constituted under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996.
Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya gave this information in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.