Fearing delays in the completion of housing projects, real estate developers across India have sought partial relaxations of lockdown restrictions, such as allowing ongoing projects to continue with half the required manpower, SteelOrbis has learned from Indian real estate developers’ associations.
The West Bengal arm of Confederation of the Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (Credai) has petitioned the state government seeking that ongoing housing projects be allowed to operate with 50 percent of the workforce temporarily residing on-site.
In its communication, Credai West Bengal said that a large number of workers are currently engaged in the foundation and basement works of housing projects and that it is necessary for the work to continue and bring the foundations up above the ground before the onset of the monsoon rainy season next month.
Credai has also sought exemptions for the movement of key inputs like steel and cement for construction work from the lockdown restrictions.
The Builders Association of India (BAI) in a statement said that the delivery of housing projects to end consumers in and around Chennai in the south is likely to be delayed by at least two to three months owing to the lockdown.
The BAI said that work is only continuing in less than 25 percent of housing projects in and around Chennai as of the total 300,000 migrant workers engaged in the housing construction industry 150,000 workers have left the region for their hometowns to avoid the lockdown.
According to the BAI, there were about 3,375 housing projects in various stages of construction in the Chennai region. It said that, with movement of construction materials like steel and cement from outside the state being restricted, most ongoing projects are also facing acute shortages of material to even maintain minimal operations.