Kerala CM advocates eco-friendly construction

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 29 (IANS) In the wake of floods over the past few years, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is advocating use of eco-friendly building materials and technology and has asked a committee to look into a new model of construction.

"Just look around, new materials are being used for building homes across the world. Pre-fabricated homes are the order of the day. But in Kerala, there is going to be resistance. A committee has decided to look into this new model of construction," Vijayan said after the weekly cabinet meeting, here on Thursday.

He stressed the need of thinking differently to save nature. "The common practice in Kerala is to rely on nature for materials, like stones and sand. For this, huge exploitation of nature has taken place, which has been identified as the main reason for the nature's fury. Landslides happened during floods this as well as last year," he said.

After last year's flood, the general belief was the exploitation of nature had caused the flood. Landslides in the hilly areas of Malappuram and Wayanad were blamed on the large-scale quarrying in those areas.

Thus, the Chief Minister is batting for eco-friendly ways.

"Another advantage of using alternative materials and technology for new houses is that such homes could be built fast. Models of such homes are already in vogue, especially IIT-Chennai has come out with its models. We are looking forward to speaking to experts. The state government will also engage in an awareness campaign to give confidence to the people to look for new materials and technology," Vijayan said.