Jamshedpur: Mr Kailashpati Mishra, the governor of Gujarat inaugurated a set of five steel intensive houses developed by Tata Steel at the Bharat Sevashram Sangha (BSS) premises today. These houses have been constructed under the Birsa Awas Yojana instituted by the Jharkhand government as a mass housing scheme for the tribal population residing in the rural areas of Jharkhand.

The other dignitaries present on the occasion were Mrigendra Pratap Singh, finance minister, Jharkhand, Swami Jnanatmanandaji of BSS, HM Nerurkar, vice president (flat products), Tata Steel and Sangeeta Prasad, chief (construction solutions), Tata Steel.

The government of Jharkhand has initiated the Birsa Awas Yojana housing scheme in order to provide housing to the large tribal population residing in the rural areas of Jharkhand. Under this scheme, the state government has approved a house layout plan of 320 sq.ft. consisting of one room of 20'x10' and one covered verandah of 20'x6'. The fund allocated under the scheme is Rs 64,000/- per unit. The normal construction consists of brick walls over which GC roof sheets are provided. The project is normally executed through NGOs that are given the order by the district administration to build the required number of Birsa Awas in a given area.

In order to meet the requirements of a house under the Birsa Awas Yojana, Tata Steel has designed and developed a low cost 'steel intensive house', meeting the requirements of the government approved plan. The model unit consisting of five steel intensive houses has been completed in a record time of 30 days by Tata Steel's authorised fabricator. The various advantages of this type of steel house are as follows:

• Lightweight construction
• Weather-proof
• Protection against cyclone, floods
• Can be built in shorter time frame using pre-fabricated steel and local materials
• Long lasting and easy maintenance
• Environment friendly
• Easier to build in rural areas where the availability of bricks,
  sands, stone chips are a problem
• Dry construction so use of water above plinth level is minimised.
• 10 per cent more living space
• Local people can be employed for construction
• High quality control can be maintained

Mr Nerurkar, vice president (flat products), Tata Steel described the features of the steel house to the audience and explained the benefits of using it under the government-sponsored mass housing schemes. He expressed Tata Steel's gratitude to the Jharkhand government and the BSS authorities for providing the company an opportunity to showcase the concept of the steel intensive house for the economy segment and hoped that this concept will be taken forward through the implementation of many more steel houses under the Birsa Awas Yojna.

Through this system of construction, the tribal population can be provided better and more hygienic living conditions in a short span of time. Tata Steel has financed the entire cost of the five-house model unit.