Roadmap for Nagaland’s construction industry

Kanili Kiho
Dimapur | November 11

The construction industry in Nagaland, in its early stages of development, is often seen as neglected. 

In an attempt to explore the current narrative through an entrepreneur who has been in the industry for over a decade, The Morung Express spoke to Kangzang Zeliang, Proprietor, BCSS® Construction & Solutions, who has a multifaceted career as an entrepreneur, promoter, and tech enthusiast.

He highlighted the key concerns, proposed solutions, and outlined the way forward to create a more sustainable labour market for this growing sector.

Referring to it as a pressing issue, Zeliang said the industry is grappling with a mounting concern where non-local workers are receiving a disproportionate share of revenue, leaving local workers with limited job opportunities and insufficient income.

The entrepreneur, who has been in the construction field since 2014, has sketched a roadmap to tackle the challenges faced by local contractors and how to bridge the gap between skilled and manual labourers in the construction ecosystem. The company, based in Dimapur, builds residential and commercial buildings, swimming pools, sports infrastructure, landscaping, and more.

“I tried to approach the labour department in 2020, emailed them with my proposal, but it received no response due to mail delivery issues,” he said.

There is a widespread perception that Nagas are ‘lazy’ to work, and while there may be some basis to this, he said it was not an overwhelming issue. There is still an opportunity to address it by collaborating with the concerned government departments. “We can implement practical solutions that go beyond policy documents and not just words on paper,” he asserted.

On whether the concerned labour department is addressing labour welfare and ensuring fair wage standards, Zeliang observed that it was not doing much, while adding that the labour wages in the market are random and imbalanced.

The Nagaland Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board (NBOCWWB) schemes were another area of concern, as he observed ghost beneficiaries—individuals who do not qualify for the programmes—being listed. “I believe the Board is tackling this issue at hand.”

Practical Solutions

Zeliang proposed practical solutions, urging the relevant departments to focus on encouraging dropouts to enter manual labour by supporting them with accommodation in all district headquarters. Pointing to the presence of non-functional government buildings, especially in Dimapur and Kohima districts, he suggested that such areas be converted into hostel-like accommodation for local workers who come from remote districts to work for a living.

This initiative would help the workers manage their stay, connect with others, and build strong teams. It would also ease contractors’ efforts to find workers for their projects. “With this thought-provoking approach, I believe we can retain our economy in the near future,” he stated.

For instance, he cited non-local contractors who are managing multi-crore projects despite being illiterate. “How is this even possible? Many of them started as labourers, working under the supervision of relatives such as uncles, in-laws, or brothers. In just a few years, they transition into becoming thekadars/contractors themselves.”

While noting the steady rise of Naga civil engineers and architects, he expressed confidence that, with the right push from the government, local construction companies, architects, and civil engineers would step forward to collaborate with the government, offering guidance and training to help dropouts acquire skills and become proficient masons, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and more.

Upskilling & Growing Local Workforce

While acknowledging the good initiative of the government focusing on current skilling programmes, he noted that it is not sufficient to scale up the local workforce in the state. According to him, people come to the skill centres, get trained for three to six months, then return to their villages or towns and remain jobless.

He stated that three to six months is never enough for someone to perfect their skills in a particular field. To truly refine their workmanship, he emphasised the need to work under the guidance of a skilled supervisor, while adding that employers are unlikely to hire a ‘half-baked worker.’

Moreover, contractors look for solid teams that can coordinate and work together efficiently. When a trained person is working alone in the market, it becomes difficult to find consistent work, Zeliang maintained.

For this reason, he believes that the accommodation model will immensely streamline connections between workers and contractors. A system could be established to regulate wages, allowing contractors, builders, or anyone looking to build small-budget houses to directly find workers from the facility. In short, it would provide a hassle-free process for the public to find skilled, quality labour, while also offering local individuals easier access to land jobs. Ultimately, the unemployment problem could be greatly resolved, he noted.

Zeliang acknowledged that this topic holds great relevance for him, having witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by his team during the COVID-19 lockdown. With non-local workers returning to their home states, his team was left grappling with a severe labour shortage, forcing them to pay double the usual wages. It was during this period that he realised the key to sustaining the local economy lies in upskilling the local workforce.

This is the second report of the four-part series highlighting the experiences and challenges faced by the construction industry in Nagaland as part of the KPC-NBOCWWB Media Fellowship 2024.

Source: https://morungexpress.com/roadmap-for-nagalands-construction-industry