29 - 04 - 2020

CREDAI Bengal Daily News Update | 29.04.20

Prepare post-lockdown SOPs for urban missions: Housing Minister

to officers

The directions were issued at a meeting to review the progress of various urban missions,

including Smart Cities Mission, Swachh Bharat, PMAY (Urban) and Deendayal

Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM).

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday directed officials to prepare post-lockdown

standard operating procedures (SOPs) for various urban missions, including the Pradhan Mantri

Awas Yojana and operation of metro trains, an official said.

The directions were issued at a meeting chaired by the Housing and Urban Affairs minister to

review the progress of various urban missions, including Smart Cities Mission, Swachh

Bharat, PMAY (Urban) and Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission

(DAY-NULM), he said.

"Officers presented the latest status of missions and they were asked by the minister to prepare

protocols for when the lockdown ends," the official said.

"We don't know whether the lockdown will be extended or not. For instance, if the government

decides to not to extend the lockdown, the ministry should have prepared SOPs in details," he

added.

________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online ET Realty (Online)

Date April 29, 2020

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/infrastructure/prepare-post-

lockdown-sops-for-urban-missions-housing-minister-to-officers/75441219

AIF Plan: Only a fifth of Rs 5,000 crore earmarked disbursed so

far due to COVID-19 curbs

According to a recent industry estimate, as many as 4.58 lakh housing units were facing delayed

delivery across 1,509 stalled projects.

The government’s plan to extend last-mile funding to complete stuck housing projects has been

badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic, as offtake under an Alternate Investment Fund (AIF) has

been only about a fifth of the Rs 5,000 crore either approved or earmarked for about three dozen

projects, sources told FE.

The fund was announced on November 6, 2019 and raised Rs 10,530 crore from 14 investors,

including LIC, HDFC and SBI, when it announced its first close in December. The plan was to

have a Rs 25,000 crore fund, with contribution of both the government and other investors.

Commenting on the funding, SBICAP Ventures, an arm of SBI Capital Markets that is entrusted

by the government to manage the fund, said: “Disbursements are a function of the completion

of conditions specified, as part of the approval and also depend on the pace of construction.

Given the Covid-19 outbreak, there is no construction activity happening, despite the funding

made available by us and that has slowed down disbursements.” Even documentations and other

aspects of due diligence have been hit by the crisis, senior industry executives said.

While it didn’t specify the disbursement amount, it said the Fund has a two-stage approval

process. Initial approval has been granted to 31 projects by the fund’s investment committee,

while six projects have received final approval for disbursement. “Together they would amount

to an aggregate investment of more than Rs 5,000 crore and provide for the completion of about

40,000 home units,” the SBICAPS spokesperson said. “As a policy to protect the interest of our

investee companies, we do not disclose the individual names of the developers or the amounts

disbursed,” he added.

Additionally, the fund is in talks with relevant entities to facilitate the approval process for more

than 100 deals that are being worked upon to complete the information required for their

approval. “These developers are also facing issues presently in terms of providing the requisite

Newspaper/Online Financial Express (Online)

Date April 29, 2020

Link https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/aif-plan-only-a-fifth-of-rs-5000-crore-

earmarked-disbursed-so-far-due-to-covid-19-curbs/1942646/

information, while the fund is facing challenges in terms of physical verification and

documentation thereby slowing down the process during the Covid lockdown,” it said.

The government had pledged a total of Rs 10,000 crore for this purpose, as it wanted to kick-

start the investment cycle in residential projects and deliver houses to people who have been

humbled by the double whammy of undelivered homes and regular repayment of home loans. It

was also supposed to boost private consumption once houses are delivered.

According to a recent industry estimate, as many as 4.58 lakh housing units were facing delayed

delivery across 1,509 stalled projects.

Announcing its support to stuck housing projects in September last year, the finance ministry

had said the new fund would have an NIIF-like structure where the government would

contribute half of the corpus and other investors, including foreign ones and domestic financial

institutions, will do the rest. It will be run by professionals, who will offer funds to the stuck

projects that have not been declared non-performing assets or dragged to the NCLT. It will help

complete only affordable and middle-income housing projects. ____________________________________________________________________________________

Maharashtra should consider 40% cut in reckoner rates for two

years: Devendra Fadnavis

"The present government should bring down the Ready Reckoner Rate drastically by

40% for the specific time period. Reducing the ready reckoner rate to 5% - 10% cannot

suffice the sector," Devendra Fadnavis said at a webinar organised by real estate

developers body NAREDCO.

The government of Maharashtra should consider reducing ready reckoner rates by 40% for two

years to push revival of real estate sector, said the state's former Chief Minister Devendra

Fadnavis.

"The present government should bring down the Ready Reckoner Rate drastically by 40% for

the specific time period. Reducing the ready reckoner rate to 5% - 10% cannot suffice the

sector," he said at a webinar organised by real estate developers body NAREDCO.

Among other key suggestions, he urged the government to prioritize on completing the

infrastructure projects in Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Aurangabad, and track that they are not

stalled as the economy will be dependent on infrastructure projects.

According to him, the common development control regulation (DCR) was signed by the

previous government and was likely to be out by November 2019, but the present state

government is working on changes and this should come into effect immediately to start rolling

the economic activity.

________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online ET Realty (Online)

Date April 29, 2020

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/maharashtra-should-

consider-40-cut-in-reckoner-rates-for-two-years-devendra-fadnavis/75441314

Maharashtra: Urgent pre-monsoon building work can resume

The state government already permitted pre-monsoon work by BMC and other agencies.

With the monsoon a month away, the government is focusing on completing pre-monsoon

work in the city and state.

The state government on Tuesday issued an amendment to the lockdown notification, allowing

urgent pre-monsoon works like waterproofing and demolition of unsafe buildings.

The notification states that a sub-clause has been added in the revised lockdown notification

issued on April 17, under which relaxations were announced. Urgent pre-monsoon work

includes protection of buildings, shuttering, waterproofing, flood protection, propping and

structural repairs of building, demolition of unsafe buildings.

The state government already permitted pre-monsoon work by BMC and other agencies. With

the monsoon a month away, the government is focusing on completing pre-monsoon work in

the city and state.

Officials said that while the work has been allowed, precautions like wearing of masks and

social distancing have to be followed.

The government had allowed movement of bedside attenders and care-givers of senior citizens

residing at home.

The Thane district collector too recently ordered civic bodies to permit construction activities,

hit by the lockdown, only with emergency pre-monsoon repairs conditionally.

The order stated that no permission is would be given to new construction activity on existing

sites. The order will be applicable only outside containment zones declared by municipal

corporations and councils in the district.

________________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online ET Realty (Online)

Date April 29, 2020

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/maharashtra-urgent-

pre-monsoon-building-work-can-resume/75441612

Gurugram: Supply hit, construction material may run out soon

Last week, the administration approved a host of applications seeking permission to

resume several road-widening and other infrastructural projects of agencies like NHAI

and GMDA.

The district administration has allowed various small and big-ticket construction work in the

city, but limited workforce, disrupted supply chain movement and shortage of raw materials

could impede efforts to complete already-delayed projects.

Last week, the administration approved a host of applications seeking permission to resume

several road-widening and other infrastructural projects of agencies like NHAI and GMDA.

Approval, however, came with riders, and mandated strict adherence to the standard operating

procedures set by the administration.

Though work has now resumed, uncertainty looms over its continuity, as a critically-low

inventory of raw materials, labour shortage and the possibility of another wave of reverse

migration of labourers are major hurdles for these projects to catch steam.

Contractors of major infrastructural projects in the city told TOI that their existing inventory

can support them for only a week and operations may come to a halt thereafter if the supply

chain isn’t restored. They claimed that availability of construction materials like gravel, sand,

iron rods and hardware, among others, is a major problem at present.

“I don’t know how to view this partial resumption of economic activities, like construction

work. The lockdown came all of a sudden, so we couldn’t even stock up enough materials. Our

inventory will be exhausted in seven days,” said an official of MG Contractor, GMDA’s

contractor for the Huda City Centre redevelopment project.

An NHAI contractor too asserted that partial relaxations will not be of any major help in

reviving work. On the contrary, ever-changing lists of containment zones, stringent restrictions

on mobility and sealing of borders have raised new challenges, it said.

Moreover, restrictions on mobility and tardy regulatory clearances for middlemen like traders,

who supply equipment and construction material to contractors, will impact availability of

crucial machinery like crushers.

“Getting permission and clearances from the administration is next to impossible. Even if

somehow we get approval, freight services are badly disrupted. Transporters keep citing lack of

Newspaper/Online ET Realty (Online)

Date April 29, 2020

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/gurugram-supply-hit-

construction-material-may-run-out-soon/75441528

truckers and those who are ready are hiking their prices, claiming that they need to grease

several palms before they can reach the destination,” said a trader who facilitates movement of

crushers and raw materials for construction work.

________________________________________________________________

Telangana: Norms for construction may ease up after May 7

The Centre has started giving relaxations to some sectors from April 20. But, keeping in

view of the surge in Covid-19 positive cases, Telangana chose to implement complete

lockdown.

Though Telangana has seen a dip in progression of novel coronavirus cases in the last couple of

days, the state government is in no hurry to lift complete lockdown after May 7. However, the

government is considering providing some relaxations to micro small and medium enterprises

(MSMEs) and construction sector after May 7.

The Centre has started giving relaxations to some sectors from April 20. But, keeping in view of

the surge in Covid-19 positive cases, Telangana chose to implement complete lockdown. Chief

minister K Chandrasekhar Rao wants lockdown lifted in phases and announced that the

government will review the situation on May 5.

Official sources said the CM and the entire administration is closely monitoring the situation

and working out strategies on those activities which could be allowed after May 7. “MSMEs

have been playing a vital role in Telangana’s economy. After formation of Telangana, as many

as 8,435 MSMEs have been set up at an investment of Rs 11,500 crore. Time has come to save

them from slipping into a financial crisis,” a senior government official said.

Officials said MSMEs are likely to be allowed with some stringent norms apart from

maintaining social distancing and keeping workers’ safety in mind. “Similarly, construction

activity will be allowed if labourers are accommodated at the project or construction site,” the

official said.

With seven lakh migrant workers in Telangana, who have been sheltered in about 160 camps,

providing food and shelter to them and keeping them in the camps for a longer time would be a

difficult proposition for the government. “Hence, if construction activity is allowed, some

workers will start going to work,” officials said.

Officials said the government has already declared that 21 districts have zero coronavirus

positive cases and some more would be added in the next week. “If there are no fresh positive

cases for consecutive 14 days in those districts, some activities like sand mining and other

activities could be allowed,” another official said.

However, the government has no plans to allow activities and places where mass congregation

happens such as religious prayers, processions, cinema theatres and restaurants immediately

Newspaper/Online ET Realty (Online)

Date April 29, 2020

Link https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/telangana-norms-for-

construction-may-ease-up-after-may-7/75441590

after May 7, a CMO official said. “Similarly, transportation services like buses and metro trains

will not be operated till last week of May,” the official added.

UNEDITED INFORGRAPH

Telangana lockdown extended earlier till May 7

Telangana exempted Pharmaceutical industries, food processing units and essential

commodities mills.

Apart from Kirana and medical shops exempted from lockdown but allowed to open till 6 pm

and in some areas till 2 pm.

Agriculture, irrigation and MNREGA works also exempted.

IT companies have been functional with 50 per cent workforce. Majority of the companies

asked their staff to work from home.

Night curfew is being implemented from 6 pm to 6 am.

Centre’s lockdown ends on May 3.

The centre also exempted agriculture works and other essential commodities shops from

lockdown.

It has allowed MSMEs, construction activity, shops and neighbourhood, highway dhabas,

electricians. But no such exemption are given in Telangana.

________________________________________________________________

Ludhiana: Administration conditionally allows construction

activity in some sectors

These activities include construction of roads, irrigation projects, buildings, water supply

and sanitation, laying/erection of power transmission lines and laying of telecom optical

fibre and cable along with related activities.

Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Agrawal has informed that as per the orders of Union

government as well as the Punjab government, the district administration has allowed the

operation of following construction activities except in Covid-19 hotspots/containment zones.

These activities include construction of roads, irrigation projects, buildings, water supply and

sanitation, laying/erection of power transmission lines and laying of telecom optical fibre and

cable along with related activities, and all kinds of industrial projects, including MSMEs, in

rural areas, ie, outside the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities; and all kinds of

projects in industrial estates, the construction of renewable energy projects.

The district administration has also allowed the start of continuation of works in construction

projects, within the limits of the municipal corporations and municipalities, where workers are

available on site and no workers are required to be brought in from outside (on construction

site). He informed that all these works could be started only after getting permission from the

district administration.

He stated that the performa to take permission has been uploaded on the official website of

district administration Ludhiana, and the official Facebook page and twitter handle of District

Public Relations Officer, Ludhiana. After filling, this performa along with details of employees,

labourers and vehicles which will be engaged in the construction activity can be sent an email.

He informed that before starting any work, due permission from the district administration is

required and the person applying for start of work would be have to follow all directions of the

Punjab government, such as social distancing, providing hand sanitisers and masks for workers,

and the workers would have to remain at site.

Agrawal informed that the permission letter will be sent to concerned through email and the

permission will be cancelled without notice if anyone is found violating the terms and

conditions of Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP) guidelines.

He further informed that till April 28, 2020, 1991 samples have been taken in the district, out of

Newspaper/Online ET Realty (Online)

Date April 29, 2020

Link

https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/ludhiana-

administration-conditionally-allows-construction-activity-in-some-

sectors/75441491

which report of 1670 has been received, and 1649 samples are negative. He informed that 21

samples were found to be positive, that includes 18 from Ludhiana and three from other

districts. He informed that unfortunately five patients have lost their lives, while seven patients

have been fully cured after treatment and have been discharged from hospital. He stated that

now, 9 (8 from district Ludhiana and one from another district) active patients are left in the

district. He informed that no positive case have been reported from the district in last 24 hours.

He assured that the health of active patients in the district is improving and the second sample

of three such patients have been sent today, and if that report is negative, another test would be

done after 24 hours (of the second test) and if that report is also negative, then the patients

would be discharged from the hospital. He informed that the second sample of patients is taken

after 14 days (when they tested positive).

He informed that as per the latest protocol of the health department, testing of all persons who

returned from Nanded (Maharashtra) and Kota (Rajasthan) is being done and they have been

kept in isolation/quarantine. He assured that the situation is under control and people should not

panic and do not believe in any rumours on social media.

________________________________________________________________

Over 21 lakh Madhya Pradesh labourers denied direct benefit

transfer of Rs 1,000

On March 24, Union minister of state for labour Santosh Gangwar had issued an advisory

to do so in view of Covid19 crisis and the BJP government in the state decided to transfer

Rs 1000 only in the accounts 8,85,089 labourers .

About 21 lakh labourers in Madhya Pradesh are denied of the benefits of the direct transfer of

Cess funds for the welfare of the construction workers when the state government deposited Rs

1,000 each in the accounts of only 8,85,089 labourers.

On March 24, Union minister of state for labour Santosh Gangwar had issued an advisory to do

so in view of Covid19 crisis and the BJP government in the state decided to transfer Rs 1000

only in the accounts 8,85,089 labourers . However, the number of labourers in the state is

2996227.

Moreover, the state transferred only Rs 1,000 in their accounts when about RS 14,857 is

available for each of the labourers, senior government officials said.

Advising the states to transfer funds in the accounts of construction workers through direct

benefit transfer mode from the Cess fund collected by the labour welfare boards under the

BOCW Cess Act ,the advisory of the Union labour ministry said, “ about Rs 52,000 crore is

available as cess fund and about 3.5 crore construction workers are registered with the board.”

“This means about Rs 14857 are available for each of them”, a senior government officials in

the state secretariat said.

Responding to a query by the TOI, the principal secretary Ashok Shah said, “only 8,85,089

construction workers are registered with the state government."

Shah said, "the government cannot transfer all the amount in the account of labourer as it is

running many other welfare schemes for them with the same fund.”

But, the sources wonder, “where did 21 lakh labourers go missing is a mystery”.

Referring to an answer given by the Union labour minister Santosh Gangwar on February 11

2019, sources said, the minister had quoted 29,96,227 as number of construction labourers in

MP. Replying to the question raised by A Sampath of the CPI, the Union minister had quoted

the number of registered construction workers of all the states and Union Territories.

_______________________________________________________________

Newspaper/Online ET Realty (Online)

Date April 29, 2020

Link

https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/over-21-lakh-madhya-

pradesh-labourers-denied-direct-benefit-transfer-of-rs-1000/75441555