PM Modi launches Light House projects in 6 states; says 'country took innovative approach'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, January 1, virtually laid the foundation stone of Light House Projects (LHP) in six states under the Global Housing Technology Challenge (GHTC) - India. The project, conceptualised by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, aims to identify several innovative technologies from across the world which are sustainable and disaster-resilient.

LHPs will be constructed at Indore, Rajkot, Chennai, Ranchi, Agartala & Lucknow, comprising about 1,000 houses at each location along with allied infrastructure facilities

Speaking on the occasion, PM Modi said that the six projects will give a new direction to housing projects in the country and strengthen cooperative federalism. He said that earlier, central governments did not give priority to housing projects and were not concerned about the quality of housing infrastructure.

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“Today, the country has taken a different approach. We have decided to change the approach towards housing. Affordable Sustainable Housing Accelerators -India (ASHA-India) program is being run in the country to promote research and startups in modern housing technology. Why should the country not get better technology?” PM Modi remarked.

The foundation stone of Light House Projects was laid in Tripura, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. These six states were selected on the basis of “Light House Projects challenge" conducted across the country for States/UTs by the Ministry on February 20, 2019. More about the GHTC-India challenge, more than 50 companies working on innovative technologies participated in it.

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Alternate technology to be used for building houses

PM Modi also spoke about the technologies that will be used at each of the six locations. He said, the ones in Indore, will not have walls made of bricks but “pre-fabricated sandwich panel” system will be used instead. On the other hand, the French “monolithic concrete construction” technology will be used in Rajkot.

In Chennai, the precast concrete system from the United States and Finland will be used, while in Ranchi, Germany’s 3-D construction system will be used, PM added. Moreover, New Zealand’s steel frame technology will be used in Agartala and technology from Canada will be used in Lucknow, he said.

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Under the project, more than 1,000 houses will be built in each location for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). The maximum period of construction is 12 months from the date these sites are given to the construction agency after statutory approvals.

Union minister for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, and chief ministers of Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand, respectively, also spoke at the virtual gathering on Friday.

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