Realty majors want the government to make use of the Rs52,000 crore labour cess to pay the stranded workers.
The realtors said while they were taking care of the workers’ needs, it would become difficult to pay their full wages with the slowing real estate market.
Last month, the labour ministry had said around Rs52,000 crore was available, which could be distributed to Rs3.5 crore registered workers.
However, the states are yet to act on the advisory.
Under the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996, all developers are required to pay 1-2% of the total construction cost of the project for all approved constructions for the welfare of workers.
“This amount is lying idle. We have requested the government to allow restarting of the work at sites as the workers are sitting idle and need to be engaged. We are ready to take care of their food and healthcare needs,” Atul Chordia, the director of Panchshil Group, said.
Even other developers are taking care of the food and ration needs of their workers for now.
But, some of them said the same would be deducted from their monthly wages even if they don’t intend on cutting the total amount payable.
Top developers said they could pay their workers for around two months, but the same might not be possible for the small developers and contractors.
