Only 250 such units in Surat are registered under the Factory Act Of the estimated 3500-odd diamond cutting and polishing units in the city,only 250 are registered under the Factory Act,often leading to denial of employee benefits to workers in the industry that employs over five lakh people. Some big units employ as many as 5,000 workers. While industry experts believe over 3500 factories are scattered in Katargam,Puna gam,Kapodara,Varachha and Mahidharpura areas of Surat,there has been no official survey to date to arrive at an exact figure. A few years ago,when a task force formed by RBI came to Surat to find out the actual position of the diamond workers in the recession-hit industry,it was shocked to discover that a majority of the units were not registered. At that time,Labour Commissioner Vatsala Vasudeva had ordered a survey to find out as to how many diamond units were registered under the Factory Act and also the total number of units existing in the city. The survey was carried out for a few days but was stopped as officials said they did not have adequate staff. Additional director of Industrial Safety and Health Laxman Dhingre said,Due to staff shortage,we could not visit each factory and get them registered. We are now waiting for more staff. Two years ago,a survey was carried out but was stopped due to some unknown reasons. Surat Diamond Association president Dinesh Nawadia said,The reason behind not registering factories under the Factory Act could be that the owners do not want to bear the additional burden of giving Provident Fund and ESI facilities to workers. Even now,it is difficult to register all units as many of them run out of small buildings.
