Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday laid the foundation of six Light House Projects (LHPs) as part of Global Housing Technology Challenge –India (GHTC-India) initiative, in six States.
The initiative will lead to a new era in construction technology in India. To recognize the outstanding contribution and performances by States, Union Territories (UTs), Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), and beneficiaries, the Prime Minister also gave away the annual awards for excellence in six categories for implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana–Urban (PMAY-U).
A total of 88 beneficiaries from across the country were felicitated on the occasion. Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C), MoHUA, and Chief Ministers of six States where LHPs are being initiated, namely, Tripura, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu were also present at the occasion. Sh Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Mohua, senior officers from the central and state governments also participated in the event via virtual platform. The PMAY(U) awards were instituted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in 2019.
Bringing people and technology together, LHPs will pave the way for a new eco-system where globally proven technologies will be adopted for cost-effective, environment friendly, and speedier construction. Advantages of these LHPs are many, the primary ones being durability, climate-resilient, affordability, safety, and speed. This technology revolution will help fulfill the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Housing for All’ by 2022. The construction needs of a rapidly urbanizing India will be catered to through the use of cutting-edge and alternate global technology innovations.
The LHPs with allied infrastructure facilities have been launched at Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Rajkot (Gujarat), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Agartala (Tripura), and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh). The States and respective places have been selected through a national challenge and these projects are ready for construction. In all six States, nearly 1000 houses at each location are to be constructed under LHPs using six distinct technologies from a basket of 54 such technologies shortlisted under GHTC-India, 2019.
“LHPs will prove to be a major push towards realizing the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Housing for All’ by 2022. As a strategy, the new global cutting-edge technologies in construction will be adopted and adapted in line with the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative,” said Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).