Abhishek Lodha, Managing Director of Lodha Developers, has said that protecting public health should take precedence over any temporary disruption to construction activity amid rising air pollution concerns in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
Speaking during the company’s Q2 FY27 earnings call on November 2, Lodha was asked about the possibility of authorities imposing restrictions on construction work to address deteriorating air quality. He said the Maharashtra government was justified in taking steps to safeguard residents, even if these affected construction for a short period.
“The Maharashtra government is very rightly concerned about ensuring that air quality for our citizens continues to remain good and all the necessary measures that are required to be taken in order to ensure good air quality are taken. Studies have obviously indicated that there are different industries. We have different contributions to the air pollution,” Lodha said.
He added that the construction sector was already subject to strict pollution-control requirements introduced in 2025, which would remain applicable in 2026. He expressed hope that compliance with these norms would help prevent significant disruption.
“In case of the construction industry, there are some very stringent guidelines, which have been implemented in the calendar year 2025 and they will continue now in 2026. And we are hopeful that if there is good adherence to those standards, there will be no negative impact on construction activity. Having said that, the health of citizens is much more important than a week or 2 of construction disruption. So, if that happens, it happens,” Lodha said.
On housing demand, he said the ongoing Middle East crisis had mainly affected NRI buyers based in the Gulf, who contribute around 4–5% of the company’s sales. The impact was concentrated in the ₹1 crore–₹3 crore housing segment. However, demand for luxury homes, particularly in Central Mumbai, remained strong.
Addressing oversupply concerns amid Mumbai’s redevelopment activity, Lodha said established Grade A and A+ developers continued to attract stronger demand.
“Grade A+ and Grade A are clearly seeing differentiated demand for their product and that demand is more solid and resilient and is able to convert,” he said.
He also acknowledged selective increases in construction material costs, particularly energy-intensive products such as tiles. However, he does not expect overall cost inflation to rise substantially beyond normal levels. The company factors in a 10% construction-cost contingency and a 3% project-revenue contingency when launching projects to manage unexpected expenses.
Source: Hindustan Times
