Housing minister Jitendra Awhad will get in touch with his counterparts in other states and developer bodies to bring workers back to Maharashtra in a bid to jump-start construction activity.
While admitting the need for locals to be trained and employed at construction sites, he said it would not be enough. “It is good that we are thinking about training the ‘son of the soil’, but that will not be enough as we have had a large exodus of migrant workers,” Awhad told on Thursday.
He said he will speak to his counterparts in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Telangana. “If the workers are willing to come back, we as the government should extend all help so that construction activity can commence,” he said. Developers’ bodies had even expressed willingness to bear the workers’ travel expenses, he said.
The minister is also pushing for good accommodation facilities for the workers at MIDC sites, which he said would be another incentive for them to return. “At least 15% of the space at all MIDC projects should be reserved for proper transit camps. I have already presented this to the cabinet and will follow this up with the chief minister,” he said.
This proposal came about after Awhad, during a review meeting, observed how most of these projects house workers in slums, which are vulnerable to Covid-19. He told the SRA and MHADA take on construction of these facilities. He further stressed that the SRA should keep aside 1,000-5,000sqft for a clinic at these sites.
The minister said he would hold a meeting with developers and announce sops on premium payments and propose that the revenue minister reduce ready reckoner rates. “For the industry to flourish. money has to roll in. Otherwise metros such as Mumbai and Pune will suffer,” he said.
