Gadkari bats for small units, new technology and construction methods to reduce prices of houses

Gadkari said there was need for decentralization from 'smart cities' to 'smart villages' that can be connected to cities with an efficient road network.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said shifting focus from large size homes to small units, use of new technologies and construction methods as well as application of innovative construction material will significantly help in reducing the cost of homes.

Addressing the 40th Annual General Meeting of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers of India (Credai) Pune Metro, he said there was need for decentralization from 'smart cities' to 'smart villages' that can be connected to cities with an efficient road network.

A miniscule percentage of the country's people can afford houses with price tags of Rs 1 crore or more and the country's masses should be at the centre of approach to housing construction, a release quoted Gadkari as saying.

He cited examples of how cost of construction for infrastructure projects was reduced by his ministry by applying innovative construction technology and materials, adding the same concepts can be extended to housing construction to reduce prices of homes.

Demand pressure is making it possible to sell high priced homes easily, but developers should shed this complacency and look to build homes for common people, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways said.

Gadkari announced his ministry will in three months start flyover projects for Pune with an investment of Rs 55,000 crore.

It is important to think about the idea of New Pune with good road connectivity and reduce pressure on city infrastructure, he added.