NHAI seeks relaxation to resume work on four projects

TNN | Apr 16, 2020, 07:32 IST

Gurgaon: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has sought permission from the district administration to resume work on four projects that have come to halt due to ongoing lockdown.
The move comes in the wake of the conditional relief provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs to the construction sector which allows work in municipal limits (urban areas) only if all the workers in these units live within the site and are not from outside municipal limits.
“It is to mention here that the above mentioned projects are of prime importance from traffic and safety point of view of road users. It is also to state that construction work of NH mainly includes the construction of road & major structure work which are almost machine-oriented works with the use of minimum labour,” NHAI’s project director Ashok Sharma wrote in its letter to the deputy commissioner.
The project director further assured that the contractors of all these projects have pledged to abide by all the requisite guidelines issued by home ministry and local administration.
The contractors have said that keeping workers in camps and providing relief isn’t a lasting solution for any party. Over 1,000 construction workers in all these four projects are faced with a loss of livelihood. “The workers don’t just want food. They have left families to earn. In our project at least 400 workers are anxious about their future. Even in the camps they live, social distancing is for the namesake. Administration can test them and ensure that only those found fit are allowed to work. Moreover, instead of deploying all 400 workers at one go, we can rotate them in batches of say 20,” the official added.
Meanwhile, the state government has decided to ensure a more effective lockdown till April 20. Thereafter, some relaxation can be expected in areas where there are no cases. But, Gurgaon is in 'red zone', which means it may have to wait longer than other areas to see substantial relaxation.