India will be slum free, minister says

(September 14, 2009) India has a massive population of 62 million slumdwellers but it aims to be free of shanties through a series of schemes, said housing and urban poverty alleviation minister Kumari Selja said on Saturday in New Delhi. Listing the achievements of her ministry in the last 100 days, she said that when her government came to power in 2004, it had prioritized the needs of the urban poor. She said states have now recognised that they need to plan for them. With the aim of moving towards slum free status, she said they have launched the Rajiv Awas Yojna that aims to provide incentives to states that want to make their cities slum free. Under the scheme, slum dwellers will be given property rights. Selja, who also holds the tourism ministry portfolio, said about 16 states have issued directives to reserve more than 20 percent of developed land in both public and private housing projects for the urban poor. She said some half a million houses for slumdwellers are in the process of completion. About 48 cities in 21 states have undertaken earmarking of funds for the urban poor in their cities. India’s Planning Commission has enhanced its allocation to the ministry by Rs.5,043 crore. The ministry has also launched a new scheme of affordable housing in partnership, with an outlay of Rs.5,000 crore for construction of one million houses for the economically weaker sections.