Orissa High Court
Odisha State Legal Services ... vs State Of Odisha & Others on 8 December, 2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
W.P.(C) (PIL) No.15808 of 2015
Odisha State Legal Services Authority .... Petitioner
Ms. M. Padhi, Advocate
-versus-
State of Odisha & Others .... Opposite Parties
Mr. Ishwar Mohanty, ASC
CORAM:
THE CHIEF JUSTICE
JUSTICE M. S. RAMAN
ORDER
08.12.2022
Order No.
07. 1. An affidavit dated 23rd November, 2022 filed by the Opposite
Parties-State has been perused. Inter alia, the figures of the amount
of cess collected, the number of building and construction workers
registered and the amount disbursed towards benefits from 2008-09
onwards has been set out in tabular columns in Annexure-N/1 to the
said affidavit. It is seen that while the number of beneficiaries and
the amount disbursed has shown a steady increase from 2018-19
onwards, as far as 2022-23 is concerned, the figures set out are
provisional. Going by the amount of cess collected for the first six
months of the year 2022-23, being approximately Rs.260.14 crores,
the corresponding disbursement is way below the amount disbursed
in the previous years; it stands at only Rs.61.61 crores. The number
of beneficiaries is only 75,994 compared to the figures for the earlier
years of over 3.69 lakhs. In other words, for 2022-23 the number of
beneficiaries and the amount disbursed is significantly less than the
previous years. When asked about this Mr. Ishwar Mohanty, learned
Additional Standing Counsel volunteers that an additional affidavit
will be filed to explain why there has been a dramatic drop in these
figures and how the State proposes to increase the figure of the
number of beneficiaries as well as disbursal of the benefits for the
remaining part 2022-23. The said additional affidavit shall positively
be filed by 9th January, 2023.
2. Another issue as pointed out by Mrs. M. Padhi, learned counsel
appearing for the Petitioner is that under Rule 267 of the Odisha
Building & Other Construction Workers' (Regulation of
Employment & Conditions of Services) Rules, 2002, every
construction worker is expected to contribute Rs.50/- per annum to
the Board. She points out that the amount so collected is not
accounted for in the figures shown as cess collected. Therefore, it is
not known how this amount is being utilized.
3. Learned counsel for the Petitioner also drawn the attention of this
Court the judgment of the Supreme Court of India in National
Campaign Committee for Central Legislation on Construction
Labour v. Union of India & Others, (2018) 5 SCC 607, wherein a
number of directions have been issued. Inter alia at Annexure-1
appended to the said judgment is the Standing Committee report
which gives the figures as of 31st March, 2017 for Odisha, which
according to the counsel for the Petitioner, does not tally with the
corresponding figures set out in the affidavit dated 23rd November,
2022. She states that the same should be reconciled and explained by
the State.
4. In the additional affidavit to be filed, the State will give reply to
both the above aspects pointed out by the learned counsel for the
Petitioner.
5. List on 19th January, 2023.
(Dr. S. Muralidhar)
Chief Justice
(M. S. Raman)
Judge
MRS/Laxmikant
