Realty firms must adopt scientific approach for sustainable housing projects: MoHUA official
Real estate companies should adopt a scientific approach while developing housing projects, a senior housing ministry official said.Addressing a real estate conference organised by industry body Assocham, D Thara, secretary, ministry of housing and urban affairs, said developers need to consider the infrastructure required to support housing projects and urban living, including provisions for green areas, rainwater harvesting, water recycling and sewage treatment plants (STPs).Expressing concern over flooding in Delhi and Gurugram during the monsoon, Thara questioned the scientific basis of developing expensive housing projects without adequate attention to supporting infrastructure.“You cannot have buildings and roads and live in a city. You need water and water will not be there if there are no green areas,” she said.Thara asked builders to leave green areas in housing projects and make provisions for water recycling, rainwater harvesting and STPs. She also noted that residents welfare associations (RWAs) do not have the capability to manage STPs.She suggested that the real estate industry set up a dedicated company to manage STPs with the help of engineering graduates.The official also asked the industry to focus on using green construction materials in its projects. She said industry bodies should join hands to establish research wings for innovation in such products.“Somehow, we are not having that scientific temperament to our work. And you ask the government to do everything. Is it possible for government to do everything? Government is not god,” Thara told builders.Thara urged real estate players to “work on water, building materials, safety and your ecosystem responsibility”.She also asked real estate companies to take advantage of the Delhi Master Plan 2047 and assured the industry that the ministry was open to listening to and addressing its concerns.Thara said the first project under Delhi’s land pooling policy has been approved and expressed hope that more landowners would come forward to share their land for infrastructure creation.Last month, Union housing and urban affairs minister Manohar Lal unveiled the Delhi Master Plan 2047 (MPD-2047) and said it would prove to be a milestone in shaping the future of the national capital.The master plan envisages the development of about 40 lakh new affordable housing units.
