Town planners call for change in policy to stop migration

Town planners have requested for change of master plan of metro cities so that it can cater to all classes of the society, even for sections with little or no savings. Leading architects say that mass migration following the nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19, happened because cities do not have space for labourers.“Government’s social housing policies, particularly in metropolitan regions, where majority of construction work takes place, do not unfortunately cater to this segment of society. Primary reason being the outrageously high land prices, and subsequently property prices,” said Mitu Mathur, Director at GPM Architects & Planners.According to Mathur, current situation of Pandemic witnessed mass reverse migration of the labour and have left a big question mark in front of the whole industry. “Since, their accommodation / housing needs have never been addressed in an organized manner, at a policy level integrated with the city master plan, the people had no option but to trace back to their roots. Now, as the government has decided to restart work on government/ infrastructure projects, the biggest question is, where are the people who will do the real work on ground,” said Mathur.Architects says that this crisis will make a mark on cities, physically and socially, that will echo for generations.“With the current scenario where affordable housing is also not affordable to many, the government needs to bring in subsidiary regulations and easy to take loan processes. This helps in ensuring housing-for-all is inclusive of all people, be it entrepreneurs or daily wage earners,” Mathur added.According to Anand Sharma, founder partner of Design Forum International, unprecedented times have hit the real estate sentiments.“Transformation in urbanism is the only constant and requires 3 important transformations– interdisciplinary design approach, rethinking sustainable design practices and innovation in form of disruptive technology such as Building Information Management (BIM) becoming a usual practice in the construction sector,” said Sharma.According to Sharma, India is the 2nd largest employer in the construction sector and is estimated to have engaged around 51 million people.

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