2 July : An ambitious housing scheme aiming to make the country slum-free within the next five years is on the cards, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Thursday.
"The government has decided to introduce a new scheme namely 'Rajiv Awas Yojana' for slum dwellers and the urban poor on the lines of 'Indira Awas Yojana' for the rural poor," Kumari Selja, Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation said in a written reply on Thursday.
She said that the scheme would extend support to states that are willing to assign property rights to people living in slum areas.
"The government's efforts would be to create a slum-free India through the scheme which also envisages the states to prepare their own time-bound plans to make the cities and towns slum free, she said.
She, however said that no funds have been released so far to any state under the proposed scheme.
Talking about the UPAs flagship programme of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) launched in 2005, the minister said Rs 3,749.64 crores and Rs 2,581.06 crores have been released under Basic Services to Urban Poor and Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme respectively to various states. (DD-2.7)
Selja says 15 lakh houses sanctioned for poor
Releasing her ministry's 100-day agenda, tourism and housing Minister Kumari Selja said that over fifteen lakh houses have been sanctioned for the poor people across the country.
Government is likely to develop a model legal framework to consider property rights to the urban slum dwellers.
She also said that the UPA government is committed to encourage domestic tourism in the country.
Aiming at empowering the urban poor with legal rights, UPA government is initiating steps to provide property entitlements to them.
"We will develop a model legal framework for consideration by states and Union Territories for according property rights to slum dwellers," said Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja in New Delhi today while announcing 100-day plan of action for the ministry.
There are about 81 million urban poor or slum dwellers in the country as per the 2004-05 census.
Spelling out her action plan she said, "Ministry will formulate 'Rajiv Awas Yojana' for slum dwellers and the urban poor in an effort to promote a slum-free India in five years.
Clarifying that the property rights means access to housing by the slum dwellers, she said the scheme will focus on according rights to those living in slums and states would provide basic amenities such as water supply, sewerage, drainage, internal and approach roads, street lighting and social infrastructure facilities.
Now, we are proposing that master plans have to include reservation of land to build houses for the poor and also for their economic activities like street vending, she said.
Once the slum dwellers get the ownership right through legal process, they can leverage it for their further betterment, she said.
As per the plan, the property rights model will draw best practices both within and outside the country and be circulated to states to enable them to establish their own legal regulatory frameworks suiting local conditions.
The model legal framework for property rights proposes to include reservation of land for housing and informal sector activities by the urban poor in city and zonal plans.
"It will cover the provision of security of tenure to the urban poor and also making land available for affordable housing, basic amenities and informal sector activities of the poor through the process of urban planning," she said.
Admitting the past policy as faulty which could not cater to the needs of poor people in urban areas, Selja said it resulted in the mushrooming of slums in cities.
Master plans have led to exclusion of the poor from the city development process and driven them to precarious and illegal settlements, she said.
Food Processing Industry is likely to create one lakh jobs in next six years through Evergreen Revolution.
Food and Processing ministry plans to establish three hundred and fifty food processing units at an estimated cost of one lakh crore rupees.
Announcing ministry's 100 days agenda, Food and Processing Minister Subodh Kant Sahay termed it as an evergreen revolution.
He said that the scheme will help in generating one million jobs.
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By : News Team
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