The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri has said that there is a great opportunity for the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) as India needs to build 700 to 900 million square meter of urban space every year between now and 2030 that has to be green, resilient and ecologically sustainable. Put another way, India has to a build a new a Chicago every year, he said.Shri Hardeep Puri was speaking at a function for release of a booklet on Schedule of Rates (SOR) 2018 for new technologies and First Q R Code of CPWD here today. The Minister also launched CPWD’s official Facebook and Twitter page on the Department’s website on the occasion.Dwelling on the rapid strides in country’s progress, Shri Puri said that our country is having the distinction of fastest growing economy in the world and going through a major phase of industrialization and modernization with a flood of construction and infrastructure projects. Therein, he said, lie the challenge and opportunity before CPWD. He said that CPWD must increasingly look at excellence in its projects along with private players.
The Minister also advocated the need to look beyond conventional construction practices of energy intensive building materials based on natural resources, emerging technologies, which not only brought speed & quality but are safe and durable, thereby leading towards sustainable development. He advised that construction and demolition waste should be recycled and extensively used in CPWD works. Energy efficiency measures should be given highest priority, he added.Speaking about the importance of social media, Shri Puri said it has introduced a new dimension, a new narrative of work culture by sharing the organisation’s experiences with public at large. He also advised CPWD of an effective grievance redressal mechanism through feedback from its social media platforms. He said, it will also provide an opportunity to CPWD to advertise its good work before the people. The Minister said the Department has had a great past and added that with some remedial measures, it will have even brighter future.The Director General of CPWD, Shri Prabhakar Singh, in his opening remarks, said the Department is moving towards the path of transformation, innovation, delivery and image building in a mission mode. He said, with the release of SOR for new technologies, CPWD has added one more feather in its cap in setting bench marking standards in the construction sector.Senior officials of the Ministry and CPWD also attended the function.