A sum of 31 thousand 733 crore rupees have been collected as Construction Workers' Welfare Cess by the States and Union Territories upto 31st December last year at the rate of one percent of the cost of construction. Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said this in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today. Out of the collected amount, a total of 6872.51 crore rupees has been spent, he said. <br/><br/>The Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Cess Act provides for levy and collection of cess at a rate not exceeding two per cent but not less than one per cent of the cost of construction as the Central Government may notify. The cess has been levied and is being collected at the rate of one percent of the cost of construction as notified by the Centre.<br/><br/>The cess is collected by the state governments and utilized for the welfare of the building and other construction workers.