July  2005  

Mass housing: An overview of recent experience in Mumbai

N.N. Shrikhande and P.L. Bongirwar

Shortage of housing accommodation is assuming an alarming proportion particularly in the Indian metropolitan cities as a result of unprecedented rise in population and unending influx of migrants. Mass housing construction carried out on a war footing could help in mitigating the problem to a great extent. A totally innovative and yet pragmatic approach, encompassing considerations related to locations of new construction, provision of transit camps, financial and operational incentives and finally adoption of innovative construction technologies, is highly essential and the same could lead to expeditious, cost-effective and quality construction. In this paper, the authors describe the housing scenario in India - with particular reference to Mumbai, along with the measures taken in the past to tackle the same. The various technologies that were adopted for mass housing construction in Mumbai and which resulted in speedy completion of some 49,000 tenements in a short period are described. The authors argue that a strong political will, provision of financial and operational incentives and adoption of innovative technologies of construction could go a long way in mitigating the housing problem.



















Housing scenario in Mumbai

D.L. Desai

The Builders' Association of India (BAI) has undertaken a study of housing requirements in mega cities. This paper* deals with the housing scenario in Mumbai and provides researched data on current housing requirements. As per the 2001 census figures, the total numberof pucca residential houses having concrete roof were 1,201,552. Thereafter, based on the records of the number of houses sanctioned by the municipal corporation and the number of houses for which occupation certificates were granted by Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) from 2002 to 2004, Mumbai's present housing stock is estimated. The current requirement of housing in Mumbai finally works out to 1.17 million. The author also enlists various factors that would generate further demand in housing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Modular aluminium formwork for faster, economical and quality construction

Ketan Shah

The aluminium formwork system has been found suitable for mass housing construction under the slum rehabilitation scheme in Mumbai. The modular nature of the system enables speedy, economical and quality construction. In this paper, the author describes the components of the system and the methodology of its application. A typical construction cycle is also explained with the help of an example.

 

 

 

 










Conventional vis-á-vis aluminium formwork system: Techno-economic evaluation

P.L. Bongirwar, P.H. Srinivasachar, Samir D'Monte and Sameer D. Shah

The use of pre-engineered aluminium formwork system,known by tradename "Mascon" or "Mivan", is found to be advantageous in view of its higher speed of construction, better quality and economy, when compared to the conventional building construction using column-beam-slab frame system. The authors highlight the advantages/disadvantages of the aluminium formwork system and demonstrates that the box-type structural arrangement is superior in resisting horizontal forces like the wind and earthquake. A large number of repetitions in the use of aluminium formwork system ensures overall economy, which is demonstrated by examples.

 

 

 

 

 



 

 


Indigenisation of mass housing technology

V.G. Jana and Y.P. Kajale

In order to meet the growing needs of mass housing, it is essential to adopt the concept of total industrialisation of housing construction. The authors highlight the efforts made by their organisation in popularising the concept of industrialisation of housing construction in India. They describe in detail the "3-S" system of housing construction. This system which uses prefab elements and certain level of cast-in-situ construction at project sites, has been evolved to cater to the typical conditions prevailing in India. The authors also describe their experience in using the tunnel-form technology.























Large panel precast construction for speed and economy

A.B.Shah

The use of large precast prestressed concrete panels is one of the promising alternatives for housing. It is particularly useful for mass housing as the system can be used for interior/exterior walls, floors, roofs, staircases, water tanks, etc without much work at site resulting in considerable savings in time and cost too. The author discusses the design principle involved and presents a case study illustrating the use of precast panel system for a slum rehabilitation project.























Providing fast-track transit shelter to project-affected people

S.R. Telang

The paper briefly describes the fast-track construction work of providing transit accommodation to project-affected people under the slum rehabilitation scheme in Mumbai. Nearly 3,600 tenements were constructed in a record period of three months. Extensive use of precast concrete and conducting different activities simultaneously helped in completing the challenging job in a short time.