28. Inspecting staff.—(1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
appoint such persons as it thinks fit to be inspectors for the purposes of this Act, and define the local
limits within which they shall exercise their powers under this Act.
(2) Subject to any rules made in this behalf, an inspector may, within the local limits for which he is
appointed—
(a) enter, at all reasonable hours, with such assistance (if any), being persons in the service of the
Government or any local or other public authority as he thinks fit, any premises or place where
contract labour is employed, for the purpose of examining any register or record or notices required to
be kept or exhibited by or under this Act or rules made thereunder, and require the production thereof
for inspection;
(b) examine any person whom he finds in any such premises or place and who, he has reasonable
cause to believe, is a workman employed therein;
(c) require any person giving out work and any workman, to give any information, which is in his
power to give with respect to the names and addresses of the persons to, for and from whom the work
is given out or received, and with respect to the payments to be made for the work;
(d) seize or take copies of such register, record of wages or notices or portions thereof as he may
consider relevant in respect of an offence under this Act which he has reason to believe has been
committed by the principal employer or contractor; and
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(e) exercise such other powers as may be prescribed.
(3) Any person required to produce any document or thing or to give any information required by an
inspector under sub-section (2) shall be deemed to be legally bound to do so within the meaning of
section 175 and section 176 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
(4) The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898), shall, so far as may be, apply
to any search or seizure under sub-section (2) as they apply to any search or seizure made under the
authority of a warrant issued under section 98 of the said Code.
29. Registers and other records to be maintained.—(1) Every principal employer and every
contractor shall maintain such registers and records giving such particulars of contract labour employed,
the nature of work performed by the contract labour, the rates of wages paid to the contract labour and
such other particulars in such form as may be prescribed.
(2) Every principal employer and every contractor shall keep exhibited in such manner as may be
prescribed within the premises of the establishment where the contract labour is employed, notices in the
prescribed form containing particulars about the hours of work, nature of duty and such other information
as may be prescribed.
30. Effect of laws and agreements inconsistent with this Act.—(1) The provisions of this Act shall
have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law or in the terms of
any agreement or contract of service, or in any standing orders applicable to the establishment whether
made before or after the commencement of this Act:
Provided that where under any such agreement, contract of service or standing orders the contract
labour employed in the establishment are entitled to benefits in respect of any matter which are more
favourable to them than those to which they would be entitled under this Act, the contract labour shall
continue to be entitled to the more favourable benefits in respect of that matter, notwithstanding that they
receive benefits in respect of other matters under this Act.
(2) Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed as precluding any such contract labour from
entering into an agreement with the principal employer or the contractor, as the case may be, for granting
them rights or privileges in respect of any matter which are more favourable to them than those to which
they would be entitled under this Act.
31. Power to exempt in special cases.—The appropriate Government may, in the case of an
emergency, direct, by notification in the Official Gazette, that subject to such conditions and restrictions,
if any, and for such period or periods, as may be specified in the notification, all or any of the provisions
of this Act or the rules made thereunder shall not apply to any establishment or class of establishments or
any class of contractors.
32. Protection of action taken under this Act.—(1) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings
shall lie against any registering officer, licensing officer or any other Government servant or against any
member of the Central Board or the State Board, as the case may be, for anything which is in good faith
done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any rule or order made thereunder.
(2) No suit or other legal proceedings shall lie against the Government for any damage caused or
likely to be caused by anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this
Act or any rule or order made thereunder.
33. Power to give directions.—The Central Government may give directions to the Government of
any State as to the carrying into execution in the State of the provisions contained in this Act.
34. Power to remove difficulties.—If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this
Act, the Central Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions not
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as appears to it to be necessary or expedient for removing the
difficulty.
35. Power to make rules.—(1) The appropriate Government may, subject to the condition of
previous publication, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
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(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may
provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:—
(a) the number of persons to be appointed as members representing various interests on the
Central Board and the State Board, the term of their office and other conditions of service, the
procedure to be followed in the discharge of their functions and the manner of filling vacancies;
(b) the times and places of the meetings of any committee constituted under this Act, the
procedure to be followed at such meetings including the quorum necessary for the transaction of
business, and the fees and allowances that may be paid to the members of a committee;
(c) the manner in which establishments may be registered under section 7, the levy of a fee
therefor and the form of certificate of registration;
(d) the form of application for the grant or renewal of a licence under section 13 and the
particulars it may contain;
(e) the manner in which an investigation is to be made in respect of an application for the grant of
a licence and the matters to be taken into account in granting or refusing a licence;
(f) the form of a licence which may be granted or renewed under section 12 and the conditions
subject to which the licence may be granted or renewed, the fees to be levied for the grant or renewal
of a licence and the deposit of any sum as security for the performance of such conditions;
(g) the circumstances under which licences may be varied or amended under section 14;
(h) the form and manner in which appeals may be filed under section 15 and the procedure to be
followed by appellate officers in disposing of the appeals;
(i) the time within which facilities required by this Act to be provided and maintained may be so
provided by the contractor and in case of default on the part of the contractor, by the principal
employer;
(j) the number and types of canteens, rest-rooms, latrines and urinals that should be provided and
maintained;
(k) the type of equipment that should be provided in the first-aid boxes;
(l) the period within which wages payable to contract labour should be paid by the contractor
under sub-section (1) of section 21;
(m) the form of registers and records to be maintained by principal employers and contractors;
(n) the submission of returns, forms in which, and the authorities to which, such returns may be
submitted;
(o) the collection of any information or statistics in relation to contract labour; and
(p) any other matter which has to be, or may be, prescribed under this Act.
(3) Every rule made by the Central Government under this Act shall be laid as soon as may be after it
is made, before each House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may
be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions, and if before the expiry of the session in which
it is so laid or the session immediately following, both Houses agree in making any modification in the
rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in
such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or
annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.
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[(4) Every rule made by the State Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it
is made, before the State Legislature.]