380 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
by the Labour Department has been fully supported by Mr. Justice Reuben in his report on the Mica industry.
In fact he himself has suggested that there should be a general levy on the mica produced or exported and that about
5/12 of the receipts under the general cess should be set apart for labour welfare in the mica mines. Therefore in proceeding with this measure we are in no sense departing from the report made by Mr. Reuben. All that we have done is that instead of having a single cess as suggested by Mr. Reuben to be distributed and allocated for different purposes we have thought it necessary to have a separate fund for welfare and another fund for certain administrative measures that may be necessary for the industry as such. The reason for making this decision is obviously due to the fact that the welfare fund will have to be administered by a separate agency, while the fund for other purposes will have to be administered by a separate agency. There my Honourable friend Mr. Tyson will see that the decision of the Government of India is in full accord with the report of Mr. Reuben.
With regard to, the additional cess we have, as my Honourable friend will see, fixed the cess in the initial stage at a very low figure. The figure suggested in the Reuben report is 6 per cent, ad valorem.....
Mr. Geoffrey W. Tyson : Labour or General ?
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : General. This is a matter which will have to be examined at a later stage as to exactly what should be the pitch of the cess in order that the cess may produce sufficient revenue which would be adequate both for welfare and other purposes.
Diwan Chaman Lall : How much does my Honourable friend expect ?
The Honourable Dr. B.R. Ambedkar : Wait, I will come to that a little later. With regard to the question of surplus stock I would like to inform the House that the Government of India has been in negotiation with His Majesty’s Government for a long time over the question of the disposal of surplus stocks of mica which have been held by His Majesty’s Government as well as by the United States. I am glad to say that we have come to an agreement whereby no sort of harm will be done to the mica industry by the disposal of the surplus stock. The negotiation has reached the final stage and in a few days time a press note will be issued informing the industry and the general public