8/23/2020 Ministry of Housing: In run-up to polls, government lines up urban renewal projects

Politics
English Edition | 23 August, 2020, 03:25 PM IST | E-Paper

In run-up to polls, government lines up

urban renewal projects
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Synopsis
Over the next three months, the government is likely to inaugurate new stretches of metro in four cities

Agencies
NEW DELHI: As the countdown to parliamentary elections begins, the Centre
has lined up mega urban renewal initiatives over the next three months. A
beginning would be made next week with the ministry of housing and urban
a airs unveiling an international technology challenge to give a boost to the
housing sector and would be followed by inaugurations of four metro lines across
India

The ministry would unveil the technology challenge on Monday. It will see
The ministry of housing and urban affairs will
international real estate players liasoning with Indian rms to showcase
unveil the technology challenge on Monday.

emerging technologies to build houses at lower costs and improved speed. This
would be done through regional technological challenges which would see state governments proposing projects and
private real estate players and construction majors bidding for these lighthouse projects. The challenge would be like a
competition where the best technology and proposal would be selected by the government to implement a project. A
senior o icial said, “We would choose projects representative of each geographical region and then choose the bext
proposals through a clearly speci ed weightage system. It is like an international competition which would help us in
identifying best technologies in terms of speed of implementation and cost e ectiveness.” The ministry had proposed the
global challenge in 2017 when it sought to invite international construction majors at an expo and build linkages with
home-grown construction rms.

The ministry was expected to announce the challenge in December 2018 but the guidelines could not be nalised.
According to sources, there was a view within the government to postpone the initiative till after the elections. However,
this was seen as a major initiative which would put the ministry’s housing initiatives in the limelight.

After the challenge, metro connectivity, which has a direct people connect, would be high on the agenda of the ministry.
Over the next three months, the government is likely to inaugurate new stretches in four cities. The inaugurations would
be done before the model code of conduct would be clamped down by Election Commission of India.

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8/23/2020 Ministry of Housing: In run-up to polls, government lines up urban renewal projects

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