The Cost of Knee-Jerk Governance : A blanket Ban on Real Estate.
I am Developer based in the Kolkata with an ongoing construction project and i will share how the recent BLANKET BAN on all Private construction in the city has effected one of the largest employing sectors of the state.
On 24th June , our new CM put a blanket ban on all constructions of private real estate properties effective immediately. The effect was spontaneous , i got the first call from the ruling party itself saying not to worry and it will be temporary. But i knew better. I was employing 47 labourers at that point , earning around 1000rs per day. Yes , they are daily wage labourers , coming from all around the state. Their earnings , livelihood , rozi roti - everything ceased.
The Government's reasoning was logical pertaining to the unfortunate collapse of the taratala building , but the reaction was " killing a fly with a nuke ". I panicked. My life's savings invested into this project. A legal guarantee to my clients to deliver them their Homes , where they will spent rest of their lives , within 24 months. On paper its only a One month delay - till 31st july. But auditing 1000s of projects in 30 days is nothing less than impossible. The inspection includes site visits , soil tests , concrete tests , tensile strengths and so much more that are impossible for projects which are near completion. An expert opinion puts it to 6 months at the very least. My whole work , my livelihood , stopped for six months. A legal guarantee to deliver the homes to the families in 24 months seems like a herculean task , beyond which they can sue me for reasons beyond my control.
The thing is , why didnt our cm think of the millions of daily wage labourer , their livelihoods. How will they put food to their children's plates ?
The truth is, while a one-month paper delay sounds clean in a press release, it translates to immediate starvation on the ground. Policy decisions cannot be made in a vacuum. If you pull the plug on an entire sector overnight to save face, you must have a safety net for the thousands who lose their \*rosi roti\* the very next morning.