Indian property developers vow to feed labourers amid lockdown

NEW DELHI: Property developers across India’s big cities have been asked to ensure their labourers have enough to eat, even though construction may have halted under a government-imposed lockdown to fight the coronavirus outbreak. The Hiranandani Group has organized 15 days of food rations for more than 4,000 labourers across sites. Oberoi Realty Ltd will continue to pay its staff, and Boman Irani, vice president at the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India, said large contracting companies, such as Larsen & Toubro Ltd and Shapoorji Pallonji group, have been asked to provide for their workers. Coronavirus outbreak: Live updates “All developers are trying to look after their labourers as a first priority,”
Niranjan Hiranandani, president of the National Real Estate Development
Council, said by phone. “We are also sanitizing sites and providing labourers with soaps and sanitizers so that they can protect themselves.”
India’s construction sector is the nation’s biggest job-creator, employing large numbers of workers who are typically paid a daily wage in cash. These
labourers often live on the build site during a project, often with their families,and are part of India’s vast informal economy most vulnerable to the shutdown. Hiranandani said he isn’t yet aware of how specifically developers will pay for this food. India’s government on Monday allowed companies to fight the
coronavirus outbreak by dipping into a pool of cash firms are mandated to
keep aside for Corporate Social Responsibility spending, but Hiranandani said developers will spend irrespective of any benefits.