Real estate developers on Sunday told officials of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and the city police that they were continuing to provide food and accommodation to workers staying at under-construction sites, even though work has been suspended following the state government’s order.
A Credai member told Metro they were working on a proposal to make a lump-sum payment to workers to compensate them for the idle period during which construction remains halted.
A Credai Bengal delegation met municipal commissioner Smita Pandey and Kolkata Police commissioner Ajay Nand at the KMC headquarters on Sunday afternoon.
The state government has suspended construction of residential buildings of G+5 (six storeys) and above, as well as all commercial buildings, in Calcutta and adjoining areas till July 31, following the collapse of an under-construction warehouse in Garden Reach.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday urged the developers to provide meals and other necessary support to the workers on “humanitarian” grounds. He said the municipal commissioner will meet the real estate developers and convey the government’s message to them.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the Credai Kolkata chapter said the association was appealing “to all our members to extend support to labourers at sites where work has been paused, by providing them with food, shelter and other necessary assistance”.
A senior Credai Bengal member told Metro that many developers had continued to provide meals and accommodation to workers, just as they did when construction was in progress.
“This is in our own interest as well because we do not want workers to leave our sites in search of jobs elsewhere, especially in other states. If that happens, mobilising the workforce after the government allows construction to resume will be a major challenge,” said the Credai member, who owns a large real estate company in Calcutta.
He said there is a huge demand-supply gap in the availability of skilled workers in the real estate industry across India. “A lot of infrastructure work is underway in the
country. The skilled workers have offers to move to Pune or Hyderabad or Bangalore.
If we have to retain them, we must offer them something during this idle period,” he said.
Credai members are also working on a plan to provide financial assistance to workers until construction resumes at individual sites. According to the Credai member, some highly skilled workers earn between ₹50,000 and ₹60,000 a month
“We are considering whether we can give them a lump sum amount as compensation for the idle period. Its modalities have to be worked out. We will not deduct this amount from their wages when work resumes. This will be like how the developers paid the workers during the Covid pandemic when all construction had to be stopped,” he said.
The eastern region head of a construction company said skilled workers were among the industry’s biggest assets and developers could not afford to lose them during the suspension of work.
“If workers leave, projects will inevitably be delayed. Even if we recruit new labourers, it will take time to regain the desired pace. The existing workforce is familiar with the site plan, drawings and design. Their efficiency cannot be matched by a new team until they have spent weeks or even months working at the site,” the official said.