Friday, October 14, 2011

Centre to construct 14,000 houses in Sikkim

GANGTOK, 13 Oct: The Centre has decided to construct at least 14,000 houses as part of earthquake relief measures in Sikkim, suggest media reports coming out of New Delhi. The constructions, these reports inform, will be carried out by Hindustan Prefab Ltd, a government firm under the Ministry of Housing and Poverty Alleviation.
HPL had constructed over 600 houses in Leh in 85 days after it was hit by a cloud burst. A majority of the grant - Rs 1,070 crore - that Delhi had allotted to the Sikkim government for rehabilitation will be given for housing, the reports add.
A central team has visited the earthquake affected areas to assess the situation and the requirements. The Prime Minister’s office, reports suggest, has fixed the figure at 14,000 housing units.
“Our team visited four places in Sikkim to carry out technical investigation. Once the roads are cleared, we will have an explicit idea about what sort of design we should have and the other ways we can help,” Jaiveer Srivastavaa, CMD of Hindustan Prefab Ltd, was quoted as saying.
The HPL is still debating on what raw material to use for the construction, since most of the houses are multi-storeyed. The HPL specialises in construction of housing using “puff panels”. Puff panels are known to be good for insulation, especially in extreme temperatures. They are also said to be as strong as concrete and have a life span of 25-30 years. But constructing multi-storeyed buildings with puff panels can be expensive.

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