Realty's labour pains

The real estate sector is facing a human resource crunch— of skilled and semi-skilled labour such as masons, electricians and plumbers. “We’ve been facing this shortage for a year now. This is not just delaying projects but it’s also jacking up costs by 3-4 per cent,” says Pawan Malhotra, MD & CEO, Mahindra Lifespace Developers.

A combination of factors has led to this shortage. The first, of course, is the boom in construction, which has increased the demand for such workers.

Then, the lure of relatively better paying jobs in West Asian countries is exacerbating the problem. In fact, the situation has become so acute that DLF is considering “importing” Indian expatriate labour from West Asia by offering them similar wages and also taking them on its rolls. “There is a proposal to bring Indian labour from West Asia and various agencies are working on it,” says Ravi Kachru, CMD, DLF Projects.

—Tejeesh N.S. Behl