Parul
Union minister of state for road transport and highways, Gen VK Singh said India is working towards ensuring that most of the construction-related materials are prefabricated, barring those used in foundations for bridges among others.
Speaking at the conference on ‘Decarbonising Construction: Building a Low Carbon Future’ organised by the industry chamber FICCI earlier this week, minister Singh said the usage of pre-fabricated materials will lead to the sustainable development of infrastructure, and roads in particular.
Pre-fabricated materials generate lesser pollution and ensure optimal use of other raw materials. “There is much more emphasis coming in”, he said, adding, “the day is not far when we will be able to make road surfaces with pre-fabricated things that come from the factory and just be laid.”
Further, addressing the gathering including industry persons and other stakeholders, the Minister pointed out numerous efforts taken by the government on decarbonising; they include the adoption of alternative and flex fuels, green highways, airports running on renewable energy, hydrogen cell technology, and electric vehicles, and PM GatiShakti plan.
Also Read: Auto Expo 2023: Changing dynamics in global automotive trade policies
“The standards are changing, and if we need to keep up with the type of goals that we have laid out, then we have to change our mindsets,” the minister said, adding that all that is needed is awareness, understanding, and technology in place.
Last week, the real estate sector met Union Minister, Bhupendra Yadav, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, on Wednesday.
As part of the real estate fraternity, Lalit Aggarwal, Co-founder & Vice Chairman of Signature Global (India) Limited put forward very relevant points in front of the minister.
He apprised the ministry and said, “There is no doubt that pollution has become one of the biggest challenges, especially in the National Capital Region. However, an ad hoc blanket ban on all the construction activities has its own associated problems and impact.”
“On the one hand, there are delays in construction and on the other hand, the cost of construction increases considerably. This leads to even more delay for the customers to get possession of their completed properties,” he added.
