T’puram recorded 10% dip in constructions in 2020-21

Thiruvananthapuram: The construction of residential and non-residential buildings dipped by 10% in 2020-21 in the capital compared to the previous fiscal, according to the building statistics report published by the Department of Economics and Statistics.
Still, in a year when the Covid-induced lockdown disrupted almost all sectors, Thiruvananthapuram recorded the completion of the highest number of residential buildings in the state. In the process, the district also went past Malappuram which has always recorded the highest number of residential buildings in a year, analysis of data for the past six years show. It was only in 2018-19 that Ernakulam outnumbered Malappuram in the construction of residential buildings.
The state recorded a 17% dip in the total number of buildings in 2020-21. This may be due to the effect of the pandemic which hit Kerala for the first time in the month of March 2020. Then the lockdown period started and it affected the construction sector badly,” the report notes.
In 2020-21, 32,414 residential buildings were constructed in the district. In terms of density, Thiruvananthapuram recorded the highest density among the districts; 23/sq.km which was way above the state average of 13/sq.km.
Rural sector suffered an evident slump in the construction of dwelling houses in the district in 2020-21. Many panchayats were brought under containment zones during the period.
When compared to 2019-20, the number of dwelling houses in the rural sector came down from 25,981 to 19,314 in 2020-21. However, in spite of the challenges posed by Covid-19, the construction of dwelling houses in the Thiruvananthapuram urban sector rose from 12,032 to 12,770. In 2020-21, only Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam managed to record a rise in the construction of dwelling houses in the urban sector.
The year 2020-21 also saw a spurt in the construction of commercial buildings in Thiruvananthapuram. The number of commercial buildings in 2020-21 grew by 31% when compared to 2019-20. Commercial buildings accounted for 83% of non-residential buildings in the district in 2020-21. Thatched buildings accounted for only a meagre percentage in Thiruvananthapuram in 2020-21; 0.58%.
Reflecting the slump in the construction sector, the revenue from building permits dropped by 53% between 2019-20 and 2020-21, according to the figures presented in the corporation budget for 2022-23. The sluggish sector had also forced the finance committee to bring down the estimate from a projected Rs 25 crore to Rs 13 crore for 2021-22.