Mumbai: Industry bodies have welcomed the government's revised guidelines relaxing the operations of few sectors but said the administrative and enforcement agencies will have to put in place the mechanisms to facilitate the working at the ground level.
CII President Vikram Kirloskar said CII appreciates the government’s move to give industry preparation time, which will help plan their future operations once it is considered safe to end the lockdown. ‘
’The opening of manufacturing facilities in rural areas will provide a lot of relief to small enterprises and workers. The government has taken care to ensure smooth movement of the supply chain by permitting transport, warehousing, col storage and others to operate.
Facilities for truck drivers such as dhabas and repair shops will encourage truckers to return to the roads,’’ he noted. On the other hand, FICCI President Dr Sangita Reddy said it is now crucial to announce a relief and economic stimulus package which protects wage, employment and business. ‘
’Given that this period coincides with the harvesting of the rabbi crop, the opening up of the agriculture and allied sectors and the graded lifting of lockdown in key nonessential sectors that will alleviate the hardships being faced by the public at large and give opportunities to daily wage earners and other under privileged sections is welcome,’’ she opined.
ANAROCK Property Consultants Chairman Anuj Puri said considering the ongoing scenario, the move to start at least some of the construction activity on project sites, even with limited workforce, is certainly welcome. ‘
’It will definitely help real estate to some extent. However, the fact that COVID 19 hotspots will not be able to resume activity from April 20 is a dampener for markets such as Mumbai Metropolitan Region which is highly impacted zone and it currently has the highest under construction residential stock of 4.64 lakh units.
This accounts for 30% of the overall 15.62 lakh under construction stock across the top 7 cities,’’ he added. ASSOCHAM President Niranjan Hiranandani observed that the relaxation has come at the right time as the situation was very grim to keep construction workers at the site afloat. ‘
’With the revised guidelines, the economic drivers of the country will start moving again, even as we extend the lockdown. Considering the estimated loss of Rs 26,000 crore per day to the Indian economy as a result of the lockdown, this relaxation in lifting of lockdown is a construction step, he viewed.
