The Hindu Business Line : Labour shortage hits construction activity

The scenario
The shortage was slowing down construction activity in many States including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The shortage could be in the tune of 20 to 30 per cent on the basis of informal inputs from the builders.

Hyderabad May 15 Notwithstanding the healthy flow of investments, the buoyant construction industry is hit by shortage of labour and the builders are running from pillar to post to ensure a steady availability of workers.

The problem is not an isolated phenomenon. "According to our information, the construction activity in many parts of the country is hit by the paucity of construction workers," Mr V.V. Siva Rao, Director, National Academy of Construction, told Business Line here.

The shortage was slowing down the construction activity in many States including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra, he said. Though the actual numbers were difficult in view of the unorganised nature of the sector, the shortage could be in the tune of 20 to 30 per cent on the basis of informal inputs from the builders, Mr Rao said.

Occupational scale

The reasons for the shortage are many and varied. "We have found that there is a reluctance on the part of the rural poor to migrate for work to distant places. This may be due to the increased opportunities available locally," Mr Rao said.

Further, construction workers are looking to move up on occupational scale. "Most of them are interested in taking up masonry, carpentry and bar-bending which is evident from the feedback on our training programmes," the NAC official said.

However, the situation in Bihar was somewhat better. "There is a large chunk of construction workers who are migrating to the South," according to Mr S.N. Reddy, Chairman, Builders Association of India (Andhra Pradesh).

"Many migrant workers from Bihar are already working in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka and the builders are increasingly looking to source more workers from Bihar," he said. The labour from Mahaboognagar district is also fanning to different areas, he added.

"We are expecting the construction activity to go up significantly in view of the elections over next two years and the general boom in the industry. There may be more scarcity for workers in the future," said Mr Reddy.

The infrastructure industry is facing shortage of construction labour and the builders are looking to other States for meeting their requirements.

"There is a serious shortage of labour in the industry and this is slowing down the pace of projection completion," Mr S.N. Reddy, President, Builders Association of Andhra carpentry.

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