For M. Haroon Cassiere, Senior Project Manager with the Habitat for Humanity in Sri Lanka, the city Corporation’s housing projects for the poor in Kalladimukham and Karimadom Colony came as a revelation. He works in the civil war-ravaged regions of Sri Lanka, providing housing facilities for the displaced, and keeping the costs down is a constant challenge for him.
“Design ideas which can cut costs will help us in our endeavour to build homes for these people. What the civic body of this city is doing with the help of various agencies is very important and there is a lot in it for us to learn and replicate back home,” says Mr. Cassiere. He was part of a delegation of 17 senior engineers from three different agencies — the UN Habitat, Sri Lankan Red Cross, and Habitat for Humanity — from Sri Lanka, which spent the past two days in the city to learn about the Corporation’s housing projects such as Rajiv Awas Yojana and Basic Services for the Urban Poor .
Prime difference“A major difference between here and back home is that here, finished house is given to the beneficiaries. But in Sri Lanka, the money is transferred to beneficiaries and we provide the design and other inputs. So a major challenge is to ensure that the money is used effectively. Since all of them are below the poverty line, their first thought upon getting money is about eating well, and then recharging their mobile phones. An efficient monitoring system helps to an extent in this regard,” says Mr. Cassiere.
On Wednesday, the team also met Mayor K. Chandrika and had a session on sustainable social housing with architect G. Shankar of Habitat Technology Group, which co-ordinated the visit.
Benefits of going local“Third World countries have to look at their own vocabulary of materials and design ideas, rather than following the ideas dumped on us by the West. We have to spread the word about the usage of low-cost materials such as mud and bamboo. We need to understand the needs of our beneficiaries and work accordingly,” said Mr. Shankar.