The Delhi High Court on Monday referred to a division bench for consideration of a PIL seeking a CBI probe into massive misappropriation of the Rs 3,200 crore funds meant for migrants and construction workers in the national capital.
A bench of Justice V Kameshwar Rao said the petition filed by Pt Deendayal Upadhyay Smriti Sansthan through Advocates R Balaji and Yogesh Pachauri, would be taken up on June 16.
The NGO sought the CBI probe to prevent large scale corruption, misappropriation of the massive Rs 3,200 Crore cess fund managed by Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board.
It claimed the Board made bogus registration of lakhs of non-construction workers without any verification.
"Most of these bogus workers are security guards, Ola-Uber Taxi drivers, factory and shop workers, auto and taxi drivers, house wife, maids, tailors and barbers etc. It is very shocking that how these irregularities and loot are happening by board, headed by the Minister of Labour, Government of NCT of Delhi who is also the Chairman of Board," it claimed.
It further alleged that these bogus registrations were carried out on the recommendations and certification of 80-90 Unions which were registered recently in the last four and five years. These Unions are illegally charging Rs 500-1000 for each fraudulent registration with the help of 150 outsourced staff of M/s ICSIL Okhla, New Delhi (outsourced company) recruited by the construction Board of Delhi.
Building and Other Construction Workers (RE & CS) Act, 1996 (BOCW Act) have come into existence through an Act of Parliament exclusively for the benefits and welfare of building and other construction workers. Each state has its own fund called cess fund which is collected from the owners and employers of building and other construction works by collecting 1% on the cost incurred on the project. Till recently Delhi Cess fund has been collected approximately Rs 3200 crore.
Besides the CBI, the NGO through its president Vinod Shukla urged the court to direct the CAG to conduct a detailed Statutory Audit of the accounts of the Board as about Rs150-200 crores have already been transferred in the bank accounts of non-construction workers.
The money was disbursed in the name welfare of the registered construction workers such as grant of Rs 51,000 for the marriage for female construction workers or the female child, Rs.500 to Rs 10,000 as scholarship to the wards of registered construction worker from Class I to postgraduate professional courses.
According to the petitioners, nearly 90 % of the 5.40 lakh odd registered workers' registrations were not renewed because there were about 80 complaints lodged in Police Station Bharat Nagar, New Delhi by the officials of Labour Department and another FIR in the Anti Corruption Department of Government of NCT of Delhi.
"Despite 80 odd complaints and FIR, nothing concrete has been done to stop such massive loot," the plea claimed.