The National Buildings Organisation (NBO) was established in 1954 as an attached office under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (the then Ministry of Works and Housing) for technology transfer, experimentation, development and dissemination of housing statistics. In the context of formulation of Housing Policy and Programmes, study of socio-economic aspects of housing issues and the increased need for housing statistics, NBO was restructured in 1992. NBO was further restructured in March, 2006 with the revised mandate keeping in view the current requirements under the National Housing Policy, and various socio-economic and statistical functions connected with housing and building activities.
The mandate of the NBO in its restructured form is as follows: -
- To collect, collate, validate, analyse, disseminate and publish the housing and building construction statistics.
- To organize training programmes for the officers and staff of the State Government engaged in collection and dissemination of housing and building construction statistics.
- To create and manage a documentation centre relating to housing, poverty, slums and infrastructure related statistics.
- To coordinate with all the State Governments/Research Institutions etc. as being a nodal agency in the field to cater to the statistical needs of the planners, policy makers and research organization in the field of housing and related infrastructural facilities.
- To conduct regular short term sample surveys in various pockets of the country to study the impact of the plan schemes.
- To undertake special socio-economic studies evaluating the impact of the plans, policies and programmes in the field of housing and infrastructure, as and when required, by the Ministry for which the additional funds will be provided by the Ministry.
NBO is primarily engaged in collection, collation, analysis and dissemination of housing and buildings construction statistics with a view to have an effective country-wide system for this purpose. In addition, the Organisation coordinates activities relating to the information emanating from various sources, namely, the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, National Sample Survey Office and other concerned organisations. The NBO is the only organization in the Government of India, which is responsible for developing an authentic and reliable database on housing and building statistics. The statistics collected and disseminated by NBO is not only used in policy formulation but is also used by various research organizations in the field of housing. The information disseminated by NBO is also used and taken by international agencies as the authentic official statistics. NBO being the nodal agency in respect of housing statistics at the central level not only coordinates with state governments but also guides the State Government authorities in collection of housing statistics through its training programmes. National Buildings Organisation collects data on (i)Collection and compilation of data on Building permits issued for all residential buildings, (ii) Collection and compilation of information on Total number of building permits issued and total number of completion certificates issued (iii) Compilation of data for developing the Building Construction Cost Index (BCCI) for LIG houses constructed by PWD from various centers spread all over the country on quarterly basis per the methodology provided by NBO (iv)Collection and compilation of Buildings Material Prices (v)Collection and compilation of Wages of building construction labour and (vi) Circle Rate (per sq. ft) of Residential Housing Property. The data so collected is tabulated and released through its various publications.
Role of NBO in various major activities of MoHUPA:
Organizing and conducting Central Sanctioning & Monitoring Committee (CSMC), Central Sanctioning Committee (CSC) and review meetings of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) under Housing for All (Urban).
The NBO work closely with organizations like National Housing Bank (NHB), National Information Centre (NIC) and other agencies.
NBO's Role in filling the data gaps
Housing and building construction statistics is of prime importance in the fast developing economy. Next to agriculture, construction is the major employment generator in the unorganized sector. Any statistics generated on this will be of great use for deciding the policy and programmes of the government. Recent past meltdown of the economy at global level as also in many less developed countries have been linked partially to the 'developments' in the housing sector. A close watch in the movement of this sector is of national importance. Any movement in this sector has powerful multiplier effects on the economy, operating through the inter-sectoral linkages in the production system. NBO, suitably strengthened in terms of manpower and appropriate tools, can strive to bridge the data gaps by taking up appropriate studies to assess the existing scenario and / or start building up the data base in conjunction with the state governments.
