Assessing Acceptability Criteria of Building Technologies to Design Appropriate Housing Schemes by Government of India for Economically Weaker Section

摘要

In accordance with the Census of India 2011, significant improvement in quality of housing has been observed with increased number of people opting for buildings of permanent nature i.e. with permanent materials for walls, roof and floor rather than temporary materials like thatch, grass, bamboo, mud etc. This has resulted into increased consumption of permanent building materials which are energy intensive. This will enhance cost of construction and increase GHG emission for production and transportation of those materials. In the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held at Paris in 2015 it was agreed that each country shall communicate a nationally determined contribution every five years and they shall be responsible for its emission level as set out in the agreement. In recognition to the Paris Agreement, India declared a voluntary goal of reducing the emissions intensity of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 20-25%, over 2005 levels, by 2020 [1]. In the Government Schemes for housing for poor, it has been observed that mainly top-down approach for selection of materials and technologies are adopted that sometimes do not meet with the requirement and acceptability of users and do not give cognizance to GHG emission reduction from construction sector and therefore these schemes fail to deliver a sustainable built environment. As majority of the dwellings are owned by people belonging to Economically Weaker Section, their affordability also plays a vital role in selection of materials, technology and method of construction. Therefore to adopt appropriate construction technologies in Government schemes for housing for poor, a systematic study of users' perception need to be carried out, which has to be cross-linked with the Government's commitment on GHG emission reduction in international forum. This study assessed the appropriate technologies, through survey and analysis, for Government's housing schemes that will reduce GHG emission without any extra burden to the state exchequer.