Moneycontrol | Housing Minister Hardeep Puri inaugurates redeveloped govt residential colonies, new office complex

Apr 12,2023

Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on April 12 inaugurated the redeveloped general pool residential accommodation (GPRA) at Mohammadpur and Thyagraj Nagar as also an office complex at Kasturba Gandhi Marg in Delhi. The new office complex will accommodate government ministries being moved out due to the Central Vista redevelopment.

“The availability of these two complexes will not only meet the accommodation needs of the central government employees but will also help in the commuting and government work of all concerned,” said Puri.

Addressing those present at the event, the minister said the newly redeveloped General Pool Residential Accommodation at Mohammadpur has 708 Quarters (380 Type II and 328 Type III) and it has been completed with 25 percent saving against the sanctioned cost of Rs 362 crore.

GPRA at Thyagraj Nagar has 703 quarters (371 Type-II, 287 Type-III and 45 Type-IV) and has been completed with 30 percent saving against the sanctioned cost of Rs 392 crore, he noted.

The old GPRA Colony at Thyagraj Nagar and Mohammadpur had 584 (G+1 to G+3) and 328 Type I Quarters in dilapidated conditions and were de-constructed to pave the way for their redevelopment.

A considerable reduction in the ground coverage has been achieved in both the colonies with increase in the green area coverage by three times, paving the way for providing more open green spaces for healthy lifestyle. Both the colonies are equipped with modern amenities such as community centre, shopping area, indoor play area, creche, stitching centre, meditation room, anganwaadi and library.

The minister said the structure has been constructed using the ‘Shear Wall Monolithic Construction Technology’, one of the six sustainable and fast-building technologies shortlisted from the 'Global Housing Technology Challenge’ declared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019.

He also said that Central Public Works Department (CPWD) had used features like 100 percent solar power generation, energy-efficient fittings, waste treated water, and rainwater harvesting in all these three projects.

Others present at the event included Vinai Kumar Saxena, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi; Meenakashi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture; Manoj Joshi, Secretary for Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Shailendra Sharma, Director General CPWD; SP Chaudhary, Special Director General, CPWD and Ranjit Singh, Special Director General CPWD.

General Pool Office Accommodation (GPOA)-2 at Kasturba Gandhi Marg is a state-of-the-art office building having plinth area of 61,454 sqm. It has two towers- G+9 storied office building (Tower I) and G+10 storied transit accommodation for National Defense College (Tower II) and its front entry is through an impressive 20-metre high spherical globe made of structural glazing.

The Tower-I will accommodate the offices of the Ministries of Labour & Employment, Power and Ports, Shipping & Waterways which are currently located in Shram Shakti Bhawan and Transport Bhawan, New Delhi, the ministry said in a statement.

The work has been executed by CPWD at a cost of Rs 325 crore against the sanctioned cost of Rs 351.37 crore, the ministry statement said.