CREDAI Pune reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to labour welfare and people-centric development by successfully hosting the Pride Best Facility Awards 2025 recently at Hotel Hyatt, Pune. The prestigious ceremony honored developers for their exemplary efforts in providing safe, dignified and healthy living conditions at construction worker residence camps.

The nominations covered Skill Development, Women Workers’ Welfare, Safety at Labour Camps, Health and Hygiene, Crèche Facilities, Maximum BOCW Registration, Silver and Gold Awards, the R. Vasudevan Award for Innovation, and a newly introduced category for Promising Debutants.

The Best Facilities Awards do more than recognize winners—they drive meaningful change across the construction industry. By celebrating developers who prioritize worker welfare, the awards set clear benchmarks for responsible development. These initiatives directly improve productivity, reduce on-site risks, enhance worker morale, and foster long-term workforce stability. Most importantly, they transform labour camps into dignified, secure environments where construction workers and their families are respected, protected, and empowered—creating a more humane, efficient, and sustainable real estate ecosystem.

The ceremony was graced by  Vinoy Kumar Choubey, IPS, Hon’ble Police Commissioner, Pimpri-Chinchwad, as the Chief Guest, who commended CREDAI Pune for its proactive and sustained commitment to labour welfare. Shri Krishnakumar Goyal, Chairman and Managing Director of the Kohinoor Group, attended as the Guest of Honour, while Shri Shailendra Pol, Former Additional Commissioner, Labour Department, joined as a Special Invitee, offering valuable insights into labour welfare best practices and regulatory excellence.
Senior CREDAI Pune leaders, including President Shri Manish Jain; Vice President Shri Arvind Jain; Vice President; Shri J. P. Shroff Vice President & Best Facility Awards Chairman; Mrs. Sapna Rathi, Convener, Labour Welfare Wing, CREDAI Maharashtra; and Labour Welfare Committee Convener, Pune  Shri Milind Talathi, attended the event with Managing Committee members, the Labour Welfare Committee and CREDAI Secretariat staff. Their presence underscored the organization’s unified commitment to prioritizing worker wellbeing at the core of industry growth.

The dignitaries highlighted tangible outcomes such as cleaner, safer camps, improved sanitation, healthier environments and enhanced dignity for workers and families. This has inspired developers to exceed compliance through compassionate and sustainable practices.

Speaking about the event, Manish Jain, President, CREDAI Pune, said, “We are pleased to felicitate our developers in the industry who showcase the best standards in labour welfare. When labourers are able to sleep well, live in hygienic conditions, access good medical facilities, and have a crèche for their children, they are healthier, more motivated, and work more efficiently. Builders directly benefit from this through higher productivity, better quality of work, and improved workforce stability. The purpose of facility awards is to create healthy competition, where developers observe one another and adopt best practices. Most importantly, this process ensures that every developer improves year on year, steadily raising industry standards. Also, the new labour codes mark a progressive step towards strengthening the backbone of the economy – the workforce. These reforms will not only ensure fair wages and improved safety but also enhance social security and overall wellbeing.”

Arvind Jain, Vice President, CREDAI Pune, said, “This is the fourth year of the award celebration. Post covid we started this regiment, as we saw many laborers were leaving the city and we realized something is missing from our end. When we realized that labour facilities were not up to the mark, we designed a programmer to attract, educate and inspire developers to recognize the importance of empowering our workforce. Today 105 developers have participated in the event and this indicates the growth of the program. Today laborers have the choice to go out to every city but these small steps keep them tied to our Pune city. When they feel valued, their quality of work improves too when they work on projects and continuous improvement is always the solution to all things.”
Vinoy Kumar Choubey IPS, Hon’ble Police Commissioner, Pimpri Chinchwad, Pune, lauded CREDAI Pune’s proactive efforts in advancing labour welfare and said, “CREDAI is doing a wonderful job by hosting these facilities awards. This will go a long way in ensuring the conditions of the labour camps remain good and the welfare of the laborers who beautify our cities are ensured. I haven’t seen such good facilities even in Mumbai or other parts of Maharashtra where I have worked, and to the organizers behind this, what you have started has continued and gained strength, and that shows the strength of your organization’s commitment as well.”

Shailendra Pol, Former Additional Commissioner, Labour Department, shared insights on best practices and regulatory excellence in labour welfare and said, “I am truly proud of CREDAI Pune. I have consistently spoken about the exemplary work being done here, and Pune developers are doing better facilities than the whole of Maharashtra. I have been associated with these Facility Awards for the past many years, and I can say with conviction that the task of the judges grows more challenging each year because standards continue to rise. My earnest appeal is for all associations across Maharashtra to follow CREDAI Pune’s lead and replicate its best practices across the state. Today, labour codes are evolving from a focus on wages alone to a stronger emphasis on safety, dignity and social security. Through my experience with the association tenure, I want to assure all developers that the department is here to support you. The Labour Department is not merely an inspecting authority; it is a facilitator. You are encouraged to approach the Labour Office directly—together, we can resolve challenges and continue our collective efforts towards the welfare of the workforce.

Commenting on the event, J.P. Shroff, Vice President and Facilities Award Chairman said, “We have been striving since the onset of Covid 19 to ensure the welfare of our customers. When we saw the conditions that our labourers were living in, we felt the need to step in and ensure their welfare and do something for those people who do so much for us. Let’s show gratitude and commitment to them through best facility awards. It was a very fair way to judge these awards, some of the developers have done things beyond expectations. Commitment comes because there is desire and participation indicates encouragement for more such events to come.”

Milind Talathi, Convenor of the Labour Welfare Committee, addressed the event and said, “This time we wanted to do something new at the awards. We discussed internally in our committee and introduced the debut award this year. Anyone who is a first-time entrant is eligible for this award. We have some parameters for these awards, there should be transparency, a systematic approach, robust evaluation, filling up the registration forms properly, site visits. Some of them are very good and have just missed by half marks or one mark. This time the labour camps hygiene was given good importance, with educated laborers, medical facilities being provided and much more. I see the joy on their faces and confidence, and the journey continues with empathy and dedication.”