Give Rs5K to each construction worker from state fund, Credai tells CM

PUNE The real estate developers’ body, Credai, has urged Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to distribute Rs5,000 to each construction worker from a fund collected by government, called the Building and Construction Workers Welfare (BOCW) fund. The government, according to Credai, has collected ₹10,225 crore in the fund in the last six years, 8% of which has been used for the welfare of workers.

“We request the chief minister to look into these cases and provide at least Rs5,000 from the Building and Construction Workers Welfare account to the construction workers,” said Sunil Furde, president, Credai, Maharashtra.

According to Furde, a second wave of Covid has once again prompted the reverse migration of workers in large numbers. It will have a negative impact on the construction industry that is totally dependent on them for meeting deadlines, be it Rera, banks or customers.

“Without a proper labour force, developers will have to stop construction activities, resulting in accumulated losses and interests. Also, multiple legal cases in Rera cannot be ruled out,” said Furde.

“Last year, during the pandemic, construction was halted for about 2.5 months and after restarting, it took us more than six months to get a proper labour force in place. Rera extended the deadline by only six months, whereas developers lost more than eight months. This year again if there is attrition and reverse migration of labour, the construction industry will see its worst times. We developers from Credai Maharashtra are already doing our best by providing free vaccinations, proper sanitising of labour camps, toilets, and taking care of their health and hygiene requirements. We urge the government to extend its full support to the workers,” he added.