Pucca housing (or pukka or pacca) refers to dwellings that are designed to be solid and permanent. This term is applied to housing in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
built of substantial material such as
stone,
brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
,
cement
A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...
,
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
, or
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
.
The term ''pucca'' means "solid" and "permanent", from
Hindustani / ''pakkā'', . It is contrasted with
kutcha housing (/ ''kaččā'' ), referring to buildings of flimsy construction. Pucca homes are typically made of concrete, stone, clay tiles and/or metal, in contrast to older homes made of mud and
organic
Organic may refer to:
* Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity
* Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ
Chemistry
* Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...
material. These building methods are more costly and labor-intensive than the more traditional building methods.
In
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, there is currently a large-scale effort to build pucca houses for people. The organization Indira Awas Yojana was created to help the rural poor throughout the country, by providing them with pucca houses. 267,543 houses were constructed under IAY during 2009.
Pucca houses are sometimes built to replace homes damaged by natural disasters. The permanency of pucca materials and techniques inevitably makes it less easy to adjust the house to the needs and habits of the occupants, and the relationship between house and occupants becomes more rigid, more fixed.
References
External links
Homes through Jobs - Delivery of sustainable materials and skills for building pucca (solid + permanent) houses in rural areas
Housing in India
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