Coronavirus lockdown 3.0 | Construction activities in urban areas permitted where workers are available on site

The government on May 1 extended the nationwide lockdown to contain coronavirus by two more weeks. Construction activities in urban areas have been limited to in-situ construction where workers are available on site and no workers are required to be brought in from outside and construction of renewable energy projects, the guidelines said.

It announced that a "limited" lockdown, including suspension of inter-state travel, air and train services, will continue to remain in force for another two weeks throughout the country from May 4 but some activities would be allowed after classifying areas into Red, Orange and Green zones.

“The lockdown extension comes along expected lines, the classification into red, orange and green zones, given the number of infected patients had largely crated the expectation of red zones seeing extension of the lockdown – which has happened.

Lockdown extended: All you need to know about what is allowed, what is open and zonal activity

"The aspect of saving lives cannot be emphasized more, having said that, the move of allowing some economic activities to restart in green and orange zones is a much needed move. Ideally, we also need some economic activity restarted in red zones too, obviously with due protection and following norms as laid down by the authorities,” said. Niranjan Hiranandani, president, NAREDCO.

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The government on April 15 had relaxed guidelines for lockdown 2.0 permitting some construction activity in the non-COVID-19 hotspots starting April 20. However, this was only provided strict social distancing guidelines are followed and construction workers are locally available on the site.

Coronavirus hotspots | Here are the Red, Orange and Green zone districts after May 3 as per new guidelines

Under the guidelines, contractors along with developers will need to ensure that social distancing is maintained at the sites and will need to find ways and means of achieving it. For basic hygiene and safety precautions, companies can regularly sanitize sites and provide labourers with masks, soap and sanitizers for washing hands frequently.

Real estate experts said the resumption of construction activity would send out a positive message to both investors, occupiers and homebuyers. It would ensure healthy cashflows at least for projects that are close to completion and unlock further investment potential.

Also, it is the well-funded projects that are likely to see immediate construction activity after lockdown is lifted. Developers will first look to start with projects that are already nearing completion to generate positive cashflows. Public infrastructure projects are also likely to take off first.

According to KPMG, total construction projects worth more than Rs 59 lakh crore are under development, most of which would have been impacted severely by COVID-19. The Indian construction sector employs over 49 million people, close to 12 percent of the nation’s working population. Further, it has a multiplier effect on nearly 250 allied industries.

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has allowed work to resume at 60 construction sites, provided workers reside on the premises and social distancing norms are followed, CEO VS Kundu had told Moneycontrol.

“Around 60 sites have been given permission to restart construction in Gurgaon. The chief consideration was that labour should be staying on the premises and they should not be transported,” Kundu, who is also additional chief secretary of Haryana, said.

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