PM lays foundation stone of Light House projects in six states

Laying the foundation stone of six LHPs under the Global Housing Technology Challenge-India (GHTC-India) through video conference, Modi said the LHP has given scope to innovate and incubate with new technology.

The programme seeks to build over 1,000 houses each in six cities in 12 months.

The prime minister announced the winners under Affordable Sustainable Housing Accelerators - India (ASHA-India) and gave away annual awards for excellence in implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban (PMAY-U) Mission. 

He also released a certification course on innovative construction technologies named NAVARITIH (New, Affordable, Validated, Research Innovation Technologies for Indian Housing). Union minister for urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, the prime minister said the country can move forward with new technology to build houses for the poor and the middle class, adding that the houses are called light house projects in technical language but these projects are really like lighthouses showing a new direction to the housing sector in the country.

The prime minister said these light house projects reflect the hange in the government’s approach of adopting new technology to ensure quality of house construction and faster completion of projects.

He stressed the importance for the government to avoid huge and sluggish structures, but to be fit like startups. He expressed happiness on the active participation of more than 50 innovative construction companies from around the world. He said this global challenge has given the country a scope to innovate and incubate with new technology.

These light house projects will be made up of modern technology and innovative processes and reduce the construction time and make a more resilient, affordable and comfortable house for the poor. He further explained that these light houses have innovations in construction technology. 

Citing an example, he said the project  in Indore will not have brick and mortar walls, instead they will use the prefabricated `Sandwich Panel’ system. The light houses in Rajkot will be built using French technology and have monolithic concrete construction technology using tunnel and the house will be more capable of withstanding disasters. In Chennai, US and Finland technologies will use the Precast Concrete system, which will construct the house faster and cheaper. In Ranchi houses will be built using Germany's 3D construction system. Each room will be made separately and then the entire structure will be added in the same way as Lego Blocks toys. 

He said houses are being built in Agartala with the steel frames using New Zealand's technology, which can withstand major earthquake risk. Canada's technology is being used in Lucknow, which will not require plaster and paint and will use the entire walls already prepared to build houses faster. 

He further said that thousands of houses will be built in 12 months at every location, which will act as incubation centers through which our planners, architects, engineers and students will be able to learn and experiment with new technology. 

He also announced that a certificate course will be  started to upgrade the skills related to new technology in the construction sector, so that the people can get the best technology and material in the world in house construction.

The prime minister said that in PM Awas Yojna construction's focus is both on innovation and implementation as per the local needs and expectations of the home-owners. It is a complete package as every unit is equipped with electricity-water-gas connection. Transparency is being ensured through the technologies like geo-tagging and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to the beneficiaries.

Talking about the benefits for the middle classes, Modi said they are getting rebates on home loan interest. A special fund of Rs25,000 crore,  created for incomplete housing projects, will also help the middle class.  Measures like RERA have brought back the trust of the home owners and given them confidence that they will not be cheated out of their hard earned money.