To meet its mission to create housing for all by 2022, the Indian government will soon launch an online knowledge lab for states and union territories. The knowledge lab will have ways and process to execute low-cost affordable housing projects using new innovations and techniques.
The announcement came from the Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) Ministry who declared that the laboratory will act as a source of information on the matters related to affordable housing in the country. The lab will be named as ‘Housing-For-All-Knowledge lab” and will be up and running soon.
According to the plan, various content and documents will be uploaded in the ‘knowledge lab.’ Majority of the content will be related to policy frameworks, specific guidelines on financial mechanism, thematic detailed project reports with model design, and best practices. Lessons from ‘failures’ and international experiences on social housing will also be available under this lab.
R K Gautam, the director of Housing for All (HFA-V), will be in-charge of the ‘knowledge lab,’ ET Realty reported. State and union territories can use technologies shared in the lab with regard to the government’s vision of housing for all under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) to achieve housing for all by 2022.
Last month, the ministry had reportedly approved construction of nearly 1.12 lakh more affordable houses for urban poor in eight states under PMAY (U), taking the total number of houses being funded to 55 lakh across the country so far.
It is imperative to buckle up to meet the housing for all by 2022. Not only the cost, but developers are now resorting to construction techniques that require lesser time so that the projects can be made and delivered on time. A knowledge lab definitely seems to be a good idea as valuable information can be shared in terms of both benefits as well as drawbacks of an innovation.