Indian Housing Technology Mela is biggest attraction of ‘Azadi@75 – New Urban India: Transforming Urban Landscape’ Conference-cum-Expo on Day 2
Indian Housing Technology Mela (IHTM) with 100 participants is the biggest attraction of ‘Azadi@75 – New Urban India: Transforming Urban Landscape’ Conference-cum-Expo being held in Lucknow from 5th to 7th October 2021. The Expo-cum-Conference was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5th October. The programme, being held at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in the state capital, is organized as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. The Conference-cum-Expo opened for public on 6th October 2021. While addressing the gathering on Day 1, Prime Minister had extended an invitation to the people of Lucknow city and from various parts of India to attend the Conference-cum-Expo and be a part of witnessing transforming Urban India.
IHTM participants are from across the country, from private and government sectors; Representatives of technology providers of proven and potential technologies; Manufacturers, building centres, innovators from IITs, R&D institutes; State/Local bodies, implementing agencies of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) and agencies involved in six Light house Projects (LHPs) initiated in six different States as a part of Global Housing Technology Challenge-India (GHTC-India).The foundation stone of LHPs was laid by Prime Minister on 1st January 2021.
At IHTM, 79 technologies covering different aspects of construction of low to medium height houses are at display. Participants in IHTM displayed wide range of technology like Innovation in cement and concrete, environment-friendly and employment generating indigenously developed bamboo corrugated roofing sheets and ridge cap & bamboo wood; Block made from crop residues and industrial waste of fly ash, lime sludge and slags from steel industry; pre-cast clay hollow blocks made of silt and industrial waste, insulated roofing and walling components, integrated cost effective precast concrete solutions; Light gauge steel structural systems; Stay in place formwork system; Innovating door system; New generation waterproofing and construction chemicals; earthquake resistant confined masonry.
Many of the technologies have great potential to be used across the country for construction of low to medium houses including individual houses constructed under Beneficiary Led Construction (BLC) vertical of PMAY (U). IHTM displays Compressed Stabilized Mud Block system from Auroville, Puducherry; on the other, it demonstrates Robotic Block laying machine developed by a Start-up from Hyderabad.
These technologies are being evaluated by a Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) set up by MoHUA for their technical parameters and further use in field.
Meanwhile, parallel sessions are being hosted at the three-day event constantly with prominent speakers on varied topics ranging from Innovative Construction Technologies, RERA, Slum-Free cities and Inclusive Housing. The sessions were held under the umbrella of Swatch Bharat Mission, SMART Cities Mission, DAY-NULM and PMAY (U).
On Day 1, two sessions were hosted on theme ‘How Smart Cities are Re-Imagining Public Spaces’ and ‘Urban Transformation through Smart City Campaign - How do we Ensure Institutionalisation and Behavioural Change’. In the first session, Kunal Kumar, Joint Secretary and Mission Director, Smart Cities Mission, Avelu Ruho Joint CEO, Kohima Smart City Ltd, Satyendra Kumar, Director, HSM, MoEF, Nilabh Saxena CEO, Udaipur Smart City Ltd, Athar Amir Khan, Commissioner, Srinagar Municipal Corporation and CEO, Srinagar Smart City Ltd, Rajendra Cholan, CEO, Bengaluru City Ltd and Vishal Kundra, Head, Design, Planning and Economics, AECOM deliberated on taking Smart Cities from mission to movement and will need cities to take key learnings into state policy.