Roads and Buildings Minister Vemula Prasanth Reddy has ordered that all government construction work across Telangana should be resumed. However, the containment zones have been exempted.
All works of the Roads and Buildings Department (R&B dept) will start once again with the help of all the migrant labourers available at the sites. Therefore, construction work of roads, bridges, MLAs’ camp offices, collectorate buildings and houses will resume, allowing the labourers to start earning again.
However, instructions have been issued with regard to ensuring social distancing and rules to be followed during the lockdown period.
All workers will be provided masks, sanitisers and food.
Migrant workers have suffered the most due to the lockdown across the country. Construction companies in India are struggling to resume work with limited resources, as most migrant workers are stranded in various parts of the country.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is expected to issue guidelines pertaining to the resumption of work after partial lifting of lockdown post April 20. The construction companies will have to adopt strategies for the well-being of the labourers and also resort to using more machines, wherever the option is available.
Other challenges include the procurement of raw materials. In addition, it will not be easy to handle the issues related to the supply chain and logistics.
As per a KPMG report, approx. 60-65 per cent of workers are in reverse migration mode, with 30-35 per cent stranded at sites / in labour camps. The Indian construction sector provides employment to about 12 per cent of the Indian working population.
