The growth of the Indian economy has been gradually declining for the past several years on account of many reasons. The COVID pandemic has further impacted the economy of the country in addition to affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of its citizens.
At this point in time, a focused approach for the revival of the economy is the need of the hour. We have with us Ramnath Velamati, who has recently retired as Chairman, AP Real Estate Regulatory Authority to take us through his opinion as to what should be done to initiate a recovery of the economy. We also seek his inputs on the performance of the Infrastructure, Construction and Real Estate sectors and the way forward to elevate India’s construction sector to the global standards.
CE&CR: Mr. Ramnath, can you take us through your observations of the state of the Indian economy in the past few years and the impact of the pandemic on the construction sector?
Ramnath Velamati: First let me tell that I am not an economist and therefore not the right person to comment on the economy of a country. But as a common man, I am pained to see the plight of the unskilled, not so skilled and the informal working class in the construction, agriculture, MSME and the informal economy going through a difficult period more so during this period of pandemic.
Having said that it is very clear that the economy of a country, state or region has a direct influence on employment of its citizens.
It is therefore imperative that the government address this situation and introduce turnaround strategies on war footing not only to revive the economy but also ensure that every person is employed.
CE&CR: What is the role of the construction sector in the economy of any country?
Ramnath Velamati: From past experiences, we have observed that whenever countries have gone through a cycle of recessionary trends in their respective economies, the construction industry has always been the first segment of the economy to start the process of economic revival. It is the same in the case of India also. The Agriculture, MSME and Construction are the key pillars of the Indian economy contributing to large portion of the GDP in addition to providing employment to millions of workers. Therefore if a proper revival package is introduced, the Infrastructure, Construction and Real Estate sectors will be torchbearers to the revival of the Indian economy. The government has a major role to play in kick starting this revival especially the infrastructure sector. The government will be able to bring much needed cash flows into this sector if it mandates that all pending bills of the contractors be cleared immediately.
CE&CR: What has been your experience as Chairman of a state RERA?
Ramnath Velamati: The Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act 2016 is one of the finest acts of the government addressing the concerns of home buyer’s across the country and is designed to protect the interests of the home buyers. The sector however comprises of not only large and organized corporate companies but also small and medium real estate firms and organizations who are not ready to adapt to corporate style of functioning. This has caused an initial hesitation among the smaller players but with the completion of 4 years since the Act came into force i.e. 1st May 2017, there is a wider acceptance and compliance.
Having said that, there is an impending need of the sector to upgrade their technologies and standards. Section 14(3) of The Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act stipulates that the promoters/builders shall guarantee the quality of the buildings in terms of structural defect liability, workmanship and material for a period of 5 years after handing over the building for occupation. This can be achieved by the builders/promoters if they adapt to international practices.
CE&CR: Do you have any suggestions as to how the technology of the construction sector can be brought on par with global standards?
Ramnath Velamati: One of the ways is to create an induced demand for up gradation of technologies and methodologies. The government’s policy in the automobile sector is a fine example of induced demand. By mandating that all automobile engines should conform to BSVI emission norms, the government ensured that world class technologies are adopted. Similarly in the construction space if the government makes it mandatory that all future buildings use pre-cast/pre-engineered/prefabricated/steel framed then it will bring all attention. (Production linked incentive) scheme can be introduced in this sector like a TLI (technology linked incentive) scheme to boost the investment in the industry in advanced technologies and machinery.
CE&CR: There is a regular mention that rapid urbanization that India is going through is likely to result in unplanned growth of our towns and cities and may create urban slums with unhygienic living conditions. Can you throw some light on how this eventuality can be addressed?
Ramnath Velamati: The main reason for people to migrate from rural and semi-urban areas to urban cities and towns is in search of employable opportunities besides an incentive for better education for the children and medical facilities for the elderly and people requiring medical attention.
The first step to reduce migration is to create employment opportunities outside the cities. The government can plan to build clusters of economic activity and build integrated townships around the clusters to create a “walk to work” environment. This will be big boost for the construction sector and lead to a healthy contribution to the country’s economy.
CE&CR: The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) has been formulated with an intention of providing “Housing for All”. Do you think that this has helped the construction sector?
Ramnath Velamati: I had the privilege of heading urban housing programme of Andhra Pradesh and I can say that the scheme is an excellent programme. This couple with the ARHC (Affordable Rental Housing Complex) scheme introduced last year will go a long way in providing affordable housing and dormitories to one all including migrant labour.
The government, however, has to insist on technology standardization and material and product standardization to achieve an economy of scale to offer the housing at more affordable costs. The scheme tenure is up to 31st March 2022.
I hope the government will be proactive and extent the scheme to benefit more needy people.
CE&CR: You have just retired as Chairman Of AP RERA. Do you have any plans to contribute further to the Infrastructure, Construction and Real Estate sectors?
Ramnath Velamati: I joined the government service as a lateral entrant after being in private sector for more than 35 years. This combination of private sector business experience and exposure to government systems and procedures have enlightened me to an extent that I am more confident is using my domain knowledge for the betterment of society.
Post retirement I am involved in two activities. As the Managing Trustee of Empower MSME Trust, I have been assigned the task of conducting a “National Demand Assessment Survey” for setting up India’s largest and world class industrial and trade park for the construction industry by government of Punjab.
I am thankful to the Punjab government for having recognized the importance of the construction sector and planning to build a large park to address the needs of the sector. I am sure that the industry will appreciate this initiative by the government of Punjab and support this unique park.
Further I have promoted a new company Digital Roof 4.0 to partake in the transformation of the construction sector to the global standards of Industry 4.0.
Digital Roof 4.0 as the name indicates is attempt to bring in buildings (Roof) which digital technologies to meet the global standards
The Norwegian Parliament, in June of 1992, decided to come up with a tunnel which will go down the history of modern era as the world’s longest road tunnel with an expanse of 24.5 kilometers (15.2 miles). This famous tunnel stretches between Aurland and Laerdal on the new main highway connecting Oslo and Bergen, the largest cities in Norway, without ferry connections and difficult mountainous crossings during the winter.
Known as the Lærdal Tunnel (or Lærdalstunnelen in Norwegian), the construction time lasted five years and was completed in 2000, surpassing the world’s second longest tunnel, the St. Gottard Tunnel in Switzerland, by five miles. The idea to come up with a tunnel instead of repairing the already existing roads was to avoid harsh terrains where rock falls were common and the roads risky. From environmental point of view, it was well founded to invest in the new tunnel so as to preserve the untouched natural beauty.
Fabrication
During the tunnel’s construction from 1995 to 2000, a total of 2,500,000 cubic metres (3,300,000 cubic yards) of rock was removed. The tunnel starts just east of Aurlandsvangen in Aurland and runs through a mountain range before ending 5.5 km (3.4 mi) south of Lærdalsøyri in Laerdal.
It was a daunting challenge for Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) to design a tunnel in such a fashion so that people did not find the 20-minute-long drive monotonous, thereby losing concentration during the long journey. The working group were led by psychologists at SINTEF (the Industrial and Technological Research Association) and to find fitting lightings, advantageous designs and gradual curves with shorter straight sections, simulators were brought into play
Strict adherence to guidelines for safe viewing distance was implemented so as to not breach them in any fashion. At any given point in the tunnel, the safe viewing distance is 1,000 m or more. At every 125 m, fire extinguishers are provided and 15 turning areas are incorporated for semi-trailers and buses. At every 500 m, emergency bays are available.
The tunnel has been designed while keeping in mind the mental strain of the drivers and to prevent them from falling asleep. Hence, the tunnel is divided into four segments which are separated by three large mountain caves at 6 km (3.7 mi) intervals. The caves have blue lights and yellow lights on the borders which look like sunrise; the main tunnel has white lights. The caves have been incorporated in the design to break the monotony of driving such a long stretch. It provides the drivers with short rests and rejuvenating scenery.
Topography And Augmentation
The dominant type of rock in the Laerdal tunnel is Precambrian Gneiss. The rock is mostly solid, but there were a few zones where it was broken and cracked. A few were so distinct at tunnel level that major safety initiatives were necessary while drilling the tunnel. While passing through a weak zone 10 km from Aurland, there was a huge fall from the roof of the tunnel. A total of around 1,000 cubic metres of rock fell. In order to continue, the entire site of the fall was filled with concrete and a new tunnel was then drilled through the fallen rock and concrete.
The Laerdal tunnel runs deep inside the mountain, with up to 1400 m of rock above the tunnel. The large masses of rock above the tunnel exert immense pressure. This, combined with the stresses from the horizontal tension in the earth’s crust, can lead to large chunks of rock falling from the tunnel’s ceiling and walls. This phenomenon is known as “rock burst”. The size of rock burst debris varies from small, thin flakes to huge blocks of stone. The builders of the Laerdal tunnel faced this problem frequently.
Construction
Works on the construction of the tunnel began from three positions at the same time and was divided into four stages:
* Drilling
* Blasting
* Loading and Transport
* Excavating and Landscaping
Computer controlled drilling of the tunnel with drilling jumbos, traditional drilling and blasting was carried out with great precision to make sure that the tunnel sections met more than 10 km into the rock and 1000 m under the mountain and maintain geometric precision. To determine fixed survey points on which other measurements inside the tunnel were based, navigation satellites were utilised. Inside the tunnel, bearings were indicated using laser beams. A computer on the drilling jumbo captured the laser beams and positioned the drilling equipment automatically, according to a set pattern. Each drilling jumbo contained three automatic hydraulic drills.
Computer controlled drilling of the tunnel with drilling jumbos, traditional drilling and blasting was carried out with great precision to make sure that the tunnel sections met more than 10 km into the rock and 1000 m under the mountain and maintain geometric precision. To determine fixed survey points on which other measurements inside the tunnel were based, navigation satellites were utilised. Inside the tunnel, bearings were indicated using laser beams. A computer on the drilling jumbo captured the laser beams and positioned the drilling equipment automatically, according to a set pattern. Each drilling jumbo contained three automatic hydraulic drills.
To transport the excavated materials out of the tunnel, wheel mounted loaders were utilized. Also, a permanent road was built in parallel to the ongoing tunnelling work, increasing efficiency and reducing pollution of the transport vehicles.
Ventilation
Aside from its remarkable length, the Lærdal Tunnel is also the first to come up with its own air treatment plant. Better air quality in the tunnel is achieved in two ways: ventilation and purification. Located in a 328-foot (100 m) chamber about 9.5 km (5.9 mi) northwest of Aurlandsvangen, the tunnel is longitudinally ventilated. There is only one ventilation air exhaust shaft, 18 km from the Aurland end of the tunnel. About 10 km from the Aurland end of the tunnel, a cleaning plant for the tunnel ventilation air is installed in a short side tunnel which cleans the flowing air for polluting components. Constant cleaning from this plant maintains an acceptable air quality throughout the tunnel even during heavy traffic. The cleaning plant comprises of an electrostatic precipitator which removes particulate impurities, followed by a gas cleaning plant that removes heavy polluting gaseous components from the air.
The upstream electrostatic precipitator is proven technology especially developed for tunnel air cleaning purposes by the Norwegian company CTA, and is highly efficient. It will remove 90-95% of the respiratory particles (PM10) in the air. The downstream gas cleaning system, delivered by ABB Miljø AS, removes 85-90% of the nitrogen dioxide (NO2 ) gas and absorbs 60% of the VOC gases (Volatile Organic Compounds — un-combusted remains from gasoline and diesel gases) including 75% or better removal of components like Benzene, and similar aromatic and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Ozone (O3) is removed to 100%.
The tunnel shaft exhausts the residual air in a non-populated area. For city tunnels, where pollution problems are primarily related for the city air quality in general, this air cleaning technology can advantageously be used to clean the polluted ventilation air from the tunnel before discharge into the urban environment.
With the pandemic wreaking havoc, our nation is facing a serious crisis where we all need to stand shoulder to shoulder and extend assistance to our people in need.
As construction workers are moving out of the cities and going back to their own villages due to the current panic situation, construction activities in the nation will soon be on a stand still.
Construction workers going back to their villages has resulted in a wide spread of Covid cases in rural areas as well. Being well aware that rural areas lack medical facilities and that they need help to recover from Covid, CIDC has decided to come up with a plan and create a task force called CIDC COVID Command Centers (CCCC) that will extend a helping hand to those who are in dire need.
CIDC COVID Command Centers (CCCC) here has tried to focus on issues such as:
Cost of technology
Safety of the system and statutory approvals
Speed of development
Cost of critical components
Cost of operations
Life of system
Repair costs and salvage value of system
CCCC will be operational at district level. It will be a virtual / physical command center that will presently look at reaching out to the needy in times of COVID crisis. The model will be scaled up subsequently to make it a permanent Center which will extend help in times of any crisis / disaster.
Since COVID hampers deliveries as it is believed to spread through touch / air, we need to develop protocols to ensure – Touch / No Touch. CIDC had a discussion with experts who came up with their valuable suggestions in order to overcome this difficult time.
Start looking at things that are required on an urgent basis, needs of COVID Patients / Family.
The immediate requirements of COVID Patients / Families:
Medicines, Hospital Beds, Oxygen, Cremations / Burials, Running Errands, Counselling, Verifications of all Information Flow and Food
Temporary relief of Oxygen level by providing ASPIDOSPERMA QUEBRACHO Q.
Creating a wing of doctors who are available on call.
Homeopathic medicines which can help ease the suffering.
A list of common medicines that people can keep handy in case they feel uneasy.
Providing support to the hospital for making available of beds to the COVID patient.
Provide logistical support. All data to be collected at a district level and consolidated only post verification. The construction companies in the local areas could be involved in the logistics of supply.
Create a group with all the construction industry captains from all over the nation who can help with the logistical arrangements and look after the management of supply lines.
Create a mobile application where people can view all the information regarding demand and supply facilities. The data needs to be real-time and updated regularly.
Communication plays a big role in mitigation of any crisis / disaster and we need to ensure that we have communication protocols in place and methods to verify any third party claims / facts before we use it.
We need to mobilize the strength of the construction industry and help out with the resources available.
We need to act as catalysts and leverage on any existing technology / process that are already available by collaborations.
A video can be made of the process of extraction of oxygen with the endorsement of IIT, Mumbai. Also, the method as to which the extracted oxygen’s quality can be checked as per the medical norms. Trigen laboratories, where nitrogen is separated, will now help produce oxygen that is separated from the atmosphere.
This video can be shared with our petroleum friends through them. It will be shared with all petrol pumps. The video should also be shared with the hospitals as well to gain their confidence.
People can come together and contribute in their own capacity, in order to set up an oxygen plant.
Black marketing of oxygen, medicines and required aids to be stopped or genuine alternatives for sourcing such items could be created.
We can also look at utilizing natural air which is available everywhere and already oxygen concentrators are available technology, let us work together to simplify this and encourage equipment manufacturers to go for mass production.
Encourage the media to report balanced news, restrict showing the undesirable scenes.
Augment the physical Infrastructure of large medical facilities each to add 200 beds in 5 – 7 days by engaging prefab manufacturers, rest of the facilities may be added jointly by hospital admin and our group.
Come up with techniques which can speed up the cremation process.
A pool of various service providers, especially NGOs working in the cities which we initially want to target, can be created by CIDC. We can get the due diligence done from our experts present in these cities through ECI, ICC, Vendors, colleges & VKA awardees. Service providers are providing free medicines, food, oxygen, etc.
Identify major resources lying unutilized on sites / plants due to partial shutdown of work. First resource should be O2 cylinders and other similar utilities. This will help us identify the stock of resources with the construction industry.
Organize regular interaction with industry / sites where experts can educate them on basic protocols of disaster management. This session can be concluded by collecting their inputs on our common agenda of fighting the pandemic. We will have more than 10,000 supporters soon with this practice and it will be much easier to approach any administrative authority with this kind of strength.
Isolation wards to be created in CIDC centers. Number of beds can be made available at the centers provided the local administration / industry can fund the same for other necessary arrangements.
We can use volunteers from the engineering colleges who can help as local volunteers.
Challenging times need to be addressed with a united front and the CIDC COVID Command Centers has joined hands with the construction industry to utilize a multitude of resources including mechanical support for the welfare of those affected.
The need of hope and help is of utmost priority in this critical situation and we strive to extend our support across the nation, unbound by time.
Drone Videography Of EDFC Railway Track To Implement ‘Leverage Technology For Project Management’ For Monitoring DFC Project, In Between Mughalsarai-Sonnagar
Preamble
Drone Technology is gaining new priorities in the field of inspection and monitoring.
Indian Railways use drones to check the ongoing work of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC).
The company has decided to monitor other under-construction projects as well as the situation in the aftermath of train accidents. Currently, about 170 projects, including doubling and laying of new lines, are being executed by railways.
DFCCIL have given ICC to monitor the new track of 145 Km track to inspect from Mughal Sarai to Son Nagar. The drone was used for the monitoring. The status report was prepared after the analysis of video recordings.
We have been given 3 phases to do done drone survey, at present we have successfully drone survey completed Phase I with the following specifications as desired by DFCCIL:-
RAW Video should be of 4K resolution with Geo-tagging.
Video must include DFCC Logo, station, height of video capture, date time of recording, kilometre chainage.
Proper safety of railway staff, public and rail users will be responsible during the videography at locations.
Low altitude aerial video and images are to be taken for whole length of railway route including right of way (ROW). Videos and photographs are geo referred by GPS & GLONASS
Running video recording should be preferably in speed range of 20-50 km/h
Oblique aerial videography should be done at 45 degree – 30 degree or as per best practices
Very low attitude flight height of about 20-100 M requirements should be used for clear details capture.
UAV system should have live video /picture available at control station (FPV-First Person View) to capture the relevant project details precisely with right context
Structures, level crossings and approaches, major bridge, minor bridge, pipe culvert, station yard, depot, DFCCIL track connectivity, encroachment obstructions, roads, major site features etc. along the railway line.
CIDC was established as an autonomous council by the Planning Commission (Now NITI Aayog), Govt. of India and the Indian Construction Industry, to introduce system improvements in the construction industry. Members of CIDC include, PFC Ltd, HUDCO, BHEL, HDFC, Engineering Projects (India) Ltd., LIC Housing Finance, NBCC Ltd, BPCL, RITES, E-in-C’s Branch (Army HQ), Airports Authority of India Ltd, Central Warehousing Corporation, CPWD, GAIL, NTPC Ltd, NHPC Ltd, Engineers India Ltd., ONGC, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and Railways etc.
Keeping in view, the focus of the government, on providing impetus to infrastructure development, a tremendous opportunity exists in the development process of supplying goods & services to the major Project Owners & their Contractors & Service providers. To meet the same, CIDC is preparing a National Database of Vendors & Contractors.
To meet the same, CIDC is preparing a National Database of Vendors & Contractors. The names and details of all enlisted vendors is hosted on www.cidcdatabase.com along with their details and free microsite. The list of enlisted vendors is also shared with a large group of government and private project owners and implementers.
The 13th Phase registrations in the CIDC National Database is now open. Competent and experienced Consultants, Manufacturers for supplying Materials, Accessories, Consumables, etc., and Contractors for providing Services, or Manpower for construction projects for river, highway bridges , tracks for railways, sports stadia, industrial buildings, residential and commercial complexes, integrated projects for power generation and distribution systems, air conditioning systems, finishing/ interiors works, piling etc at various locations across India and other South Asian nations are encouraged to enlist in the Database, to enhance their visibility amongst both National & International Stakeholders.
The Database hosted on www.cidcdatabase.com is accessible to all project owners & stakeholders. Applications for Registration are invited from OEMs/ Vendors/Contractors/Consultants/ Manufacturers to enlist in the database.
Only those Organizations meeting the criteria of enlistment shall only be registered in the database. For list of Items / Services required, Criteria for Registration, Application Forms and other details please log on to the website www.cidcdatabase.com / www.cidc.in.
Application for registration along with forms duly completed in all respect should reach latest by 31st May 2021 to the address mentioned below.
Enlistment Division, Construction Industry Development Council 801 (8th Floor), Hemkunt Chambers, 89, Nehru Place, New Delhi – 110019 India
Tel.: 011-2623 4770, 2648 9992, 4161 7971 Fax: 011-2645 1604, | Mob: 09818736455 / 09810648451
Email: enlistmentcidc@gmail.com / cidcdatabase2020@gmail.com | Web: www.cidcdatabase.com / www.cidc.in
