State facing manpower crunch in construction sector: Experts

Orissa is grappling with a shortafe of manpower in the construction sector and the state lacks adequate training infrastructure for the operators of construction equipment.

“We do not have adequate civil engineers to take up construction activities on a fast pace. Moreover, the state lacks adequate infrastructure for training the operators of construction equipment”, said RK Agrawal, chief general manager, Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco).

He was speaking at a seminar on Enhancing Capacities of Construction Equipment for Upscaling Infrastructure Development, organized here by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

“Orissa does not have the manpower to meet its burgeoning need of infrastructure development. It’s not just the skilled engineers, even semi-skilled and unskilled labourers also have to be sourced from neighbouring states like West Bengal, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh”, said Anup Mohapatra, president, Real Estate Developers Association (REDA) of Orissa.

IIT-Kharagpur has prepared a comprehensive development plan comprising Choudwar, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Khurda and to meet the infrastructure needs envisaged in this master plan, we need adequate manpower, both skilled and unskilled, he added. PC Sahu, chief engineer and managing director, Orissa Bridge and Construction Corporation (OBCC) said that there is a need to train the operators of construction equipment.

RP Pattnaik, chief manager, State Bank of India (SBI) said, “SBI has tied up with JCB India Limited, the market leader in construction equipment for construction equipment loans ranging from Rs 15 lakh to Rs one crore. The tie-up is valid for a period of four years and we have dedicated processing centres for construction equipment loans.”

Aditya Kumar Ray, project director, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), said, “There is a dearth of efficient contractors as a result of which some of the highway projects in the state are running behind schedule.” TR Bharathan, director of the Hyderabad-based Puzzalona Fabricators said, “CII in association with the Indian Earthmoving and Construction Industry Association Limited (IECIAL), Bangalore, will organize an exhibition to showcase the latest advancements in construction engineering products in November.”