Tuesday, October 26,
Work on over 2 million sq ft of residential and commercial space in various stages of construction around Pune has come to a grinding halt, as river sand is unavailable.
While delivery schedules are certain to be hit and the overrun could range from a few weeks to some months, builders assert that the problem will be aggravated by demobilized labour even after the sand issue is sorted out.
“Currently, since all projects that require river sand have come to a standstill, labour will move away wherever there is work. It could be Gurgoan or Bangalore or anywhere else,” says Mr Manish Jain, Joint Managing Director, Kumar Properties, which operates in the residential space. “This will lead to further delays, and inevitably impact property prices,” he said.
Reiterating that the problem was huge, Mr Satish Magar, President, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India, Pune chapter, said that around 50 per cent of construction projects in the city relied on river sand, while the remaining utilised crushed stone.
Mr Sanjay Bamne, Mining Officer for Pune district, said that all mining of river sand had been stopped since August 1, and no auctions, which normally last from August to December, had been held.
Source: The Business Line
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