Construction nod gives builders relief

nNEW DELHI: The Delhi government’s decision on Monday to allow all construction activity in the city to resume has come as a huge relief to builders and property owners, whose projects have been stuck for over 50 days, as well as lakhs of construction workers who can now get back to work and earn a livelihood.

Builders and construction firms in the capital welcomed the decision and said they will start work at the earliest after assessing the market situation.

Harvinder Singh, managing director of Gridtech Construction Pvt Ltd, said, “We are ready to start the construction work at our sites. I got calls from my labour contractors who have assured me that they have the manpower ready to start work immediately. We will do a basic assessment and resume work.”

Although the Delhi government had allowed some construction work to resume, based on the Union government’s order in the first week of May, it was restricted to projects where labour was available on-site. This meant that only construction work on government projects could start.

Property owners said shortage of labour may hamper the progress on private projects.

Prem Prakash Gupta, a property owner in Kotla Mubarakpur, said his residential project is stuck due to a shortage of hands.

“I started the work a few months before the lockdown. I continued to pay the labour for almost two months after the lockdown, as I didn’t want them to go. But last week, more than half of them left for their home towns. The cost of construction material has also increased. ”

For labourers, the decision has come a ray of hope after months of struggling to a make ends meet. Narendra, a labour contractor in Rohini, said, “We have been told to wait. People are reluctant to allow workers inside their houses. It will take some time before our work picks up its full pace,”