The Uttar Pradesh Housing and Development Board (UPHDB) will construct 10,000 houses for the economically weaker section (EWS) in urban areas. The decision comes in response to the state government’s directive to provide affordable accommodation to them on a priority basis.

The UPHDB has been asked to construct these houses in the current fiscal. Each house will cost approximately Rs 3 lakh. The scheme, under which these houses will come up in Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Kanpur and Moradabad, will be announced within a week.

“In the first phase, the board will construct 6,000 houses. It has already identified land in the four cities. The remaining 4,000 will be built in the next phase,” said Laxman Prasad, Deputy Housing Commissioner. Out of 6,000 houses, 3,000 houses will be construct in Lucknow, 2,000 in Ghaziabad and 500 each in Kanpur and Moradabad. “The area of each dwelling unit will be 30 sq m, comprising two small rooms, kitchen, toilet and one small veranda,” said a UPHDB official. He added that the design of the units will be similar to those developed under the Kanshiram Shahri Gareeb Awas Yojna.

Cost of these EWS houses are much higher than others developed so far in the state. “The value of land is increasing everywhere. A 30-sq m area costs over Rs 1.5 lakh,” said the official. Besides, the cost of construction material has also increased in the last few months.