4 companies vie for govt’s housing project
The government will insist on environment-friendly and low-cost materials for the construction of the homes
By : k.j. jacob
Update: 2015-11-04 05:51 GMT
Kochi: Four companies, including one from abroad, are in the fray for taking up the government’s ambitious plans to build low-cost houses for the homeless in the state. It is understood that the companies have submitted additional technical information to the screening committee of experts on Tuesday.
Once the committee cleared them, the names will be forwarded to the government, sources in the KSIDC, which has been tasked to pick up the right companies, told Deccan Chronicle. “We hope to finalise the names and forward them to the government in two weeks,” the sources said.
Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson said the project was aimed at addressing the needs of the homeless in the state in the most cost-effective and economical manner.
“The government has identified that there are about 1.75 lakh homeless people in the state,” he said. “In addition, there are more than 50,000 homes built under the Laksham Veedu’ project, which are in a dilapidated condition. On an average, two families live in each of them. This means we need to build about 2.75 lakh homes,” he said.
The committee of experts, drawn from premier institutions such as IITs will pick the companies in the most transparent way, Mr Thomson said.
The government will insist on environment-friendly and low-cost materials for the construction of the homes. “The project will be linked to Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana,” he said and added the government will have to seek private investment, especially for the production of building materials, for the successful implementation of the project.
Each house will be around 400 sq ft in area and will be built with pre-cast materials, including walls, roofs, floors and sanitary units. The government proposes to implement the scheme through the Kerala State Housing Board.
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