Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja here today unveiled agenda for the first 100 days of Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation. Minister of state for Tourism Shri Sultan Ahmed and senior officials of the Ministry were also present on the occasion. Following are the initiatives announced by the Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja:
1. Rajiv Awas Yojana
The Ministry will formulate Rajiv Awas Yojana for the slum dwellers and the urban poor in an effort to promote a slum-free India in five years. The scheme will focus on according property rights to slum-dwellers/urban poor by States/UTs, providing basic amenities such as water supply, sewerage, drainage, internal and approach roads, street lighting and social infrastructure facilities in slums and low income settlements adopting a ‘whole city’ approach and enabling the construction of houses by the slum-dweller/urban poor through access to subsidized credit. It will also explore partnerships between the urban poor, municipalities, parastatal authorities, State and Central Governments and private developers to create affordable homes for the urban poor. The Government would extend support to States that are willing to assign property rights to people living in slum areas. Rajiv Awas Yojana will offer a RAY of hope to slum-dwellers and other urban poor to access a decent and dignified living environment and an affordable home.
The Ministry will develop a model legal framework for consideration by States/UTs for according property rights to slum-dwellers/urban poor. This model will draw on best practices both within and outside the country and be circulated to States/UTs to enable them to establish their own legal-regulatory frameworks suiting local conditions. 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. It proposes to include reservation of land for housing and informal sector activities by the urban poor in city and zonal plans.
Master plans have led to exclusion of the poor from the city development process and driven them to precarious and illegal settlements. The Ministry will support an Inclusive City Campaign involving all stakeholders to alter the existing city planning model and prepare ‘inclusive’ Master Plans/City Development Plans that adequately address the concerns of the urban poor for affordable housing and informal sector activities which engage most of the urban poor. Inclusive cities will be critical to inclusive economic growth and tapping the bottom of the pyramid.
2. Inclusion of more cities under JNNURM
When JNNURM was launched on 3rd December 2005, emphasis was laid on cities with population of 10 lakhs and more as per 2001 Census. Now an effort will be made to include cities with population of 5 lakhs and more under JNNURM.
3. Social Audit of JNNURM (BSUP & IHSDP)
Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) and Integrated Housing & Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) deal with the human face of JNNURM. Under these, more than 14.5 lakh houses have been sanctioned for the poor all over the country under about 1300 projects. These projects involve an outlay of more than Rs 33,706 crores and Additional Central Assistance (Grant) commitment of Rs.18, 384 crores. To ensure that the benefits of projects under JNNURM reach the intended poor beneficiaries and that the projects are implemented in a participatory manner involving the poor, independent social audit will be launched for BSUP and IHSDP projects. A Manual on Social Audit will be prepared and circulated to States/UTs to guide them to undertake social audit of projects.
4. Affordable Housing for All
Following the National Urban Housing & Habitat Policy 2007 and Repot of the High Level Task Force on Affordable Housing for All, headed by Shri Deepak Parekh, the Ministry will set up two committees for:
i. Working out the parameters for estimating the number of households under three categories of ‘affordability’ – Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Low Income Group (LIG) and Lower Middle Income Group (LMIG) and
ii. Promotion of housing micro finance company which may be permitted to take household savings as deposits.
A dialogue will be initiated with all stakeholders to prepare model bill for regulating the real estate sector.
5. Skill Development of the Urban Poor
Skill development programme for employment promotion for the urban poor will be launched to enable them to access wage employment offered by the market or undertake self-employment. The target will be 10 lakhs over the next 5 years, starting with 2 lakhs in 2009-10. Focus will be on imparting quality training and skill certification through reputed institutions or skills training providers so that the urban poor youth will be enabled to enhance their income and improve their living conditions. At least 30% of the trainees shall be women.
6. Capacity Building to Address Issues of Slums & Poverty
States/UTs would be supported to catalyse State and City Resource Centres (covering cities with population of 1 lakh or more) to serve as resources for the urban poor for employment-related information, market assessment, skill development, training, placement, etc. These centres will also promote measures to improve transparency, right to information, accountability, responsiveness, community participation and sensitivity to the issues faced by the poor including slum-dwellers. The objective is to create/enhance human resource and institutional capacity to implement programmes for the urban poor who need support of the Government the most.
1. Rajiv Awas Yojana
The Ministry will formulate Rajiv Awas Yojana for the slum dwellers and the urban poor in an effort to promote a slum-free India in five years. The scheme will focus on according property rights to slum-dwellers/urban poor by States/UTs, providing basic amenities such as water supply, sewerage, drainage, internal and approach roads, street lighting and social infrastructure facilities in slums and low income settlements adopting a ‘whole city’ approach and enabling the construction of houses by the slum-dweller/urban poor through access to subsidized credit. It will also explore partnerships between the urban poor, municipalities, parastatal authorities, State and Central Governments and private developers to create affordable homes for the urban poor. The Government would extend support to States that are willing to assign property rights to people living in slum areas. Rajiv Awas Yojana will offer a RAY of hope to slum-dwellers and other urban poor to access a decent and dignified living environment and an affordable home.
The Ministry will develop a model legal framework for consideration by States/UTs for according property rights to slum-dwellers/urban poor. This model will draw on best practices both within and outside the country and be circulated to States/UTs to enable them to establish their own legal-regulatory frameworks suiting local conditions. 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. It proposes to include reservation of land for housing and informal sector activities by the urban poor in city and zonal plans.
Master plans have led to exclusion of the poor from the city development process and driven them to precarious and illegal settlements. The Ministry will support an Inclusive City Campaign involving all stakeholders to alter the existing city planning model and prepare ‘inclusive’ Master Plans/City Development Plans that adequately address the concerns of the urban poor for affordable housing and informal sector activities which engage most of the urban poor. Inclusive cities will be critical to inclusive economic growth and tapping the bottom of the pyramid.
2. Inclusion of more cities under JNNURM
When JNNURM was launched on 3rd December 2005, emphasis was laid on cities with population of 10 lakhs and more as per 2001 Census. Now an effort will be made to include cities with population of 5 lakhs and more under JNNURM.
3. Social Audit of JNNURM (BSUP & IHSDP)
Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) and Integrated Housing & Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) deal with the human face of JNNURM. Under these, more than 14.5 lakh houses have been sanctioned for the poor all over the country under about 1300 projects. These projects involve an outlay of more than Rs 33,706 crores and Additional Central Assistance (Grant) commitment of Rs.18, 384 crores. To ensure that the benefits of projects under JNNURM reach the intended poor beneficiaries and that the projects are implemented in a participatory manner involving the poor, independent social audit will be launched for BSUP and IHSDP projects. A Manual on Social Audit will be prepared and circulated to States/UTs to guide them to undertake social audit of projects.
4. Affordable Housing for All
Following the National Urban Housing & Habitat Policy 2007 and Repot of the High Level Task Force on Affordable Housing for All, headed by Shri Deepak Parekh, the Ministry will set up two committees for:
i. Working out the parameters for estimating the number of households under three categories of ‘affordability’ – Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Low Income Group (LIG) and Lower Middle Income Group (LMIG) and
ii. Promotion of housing micro finance company which may be permitted to take household savings as deposits.
A dialogue will be initiated with all stakeholders to prepare model bill for regulating the real estate sector.
5. Skill Development of the Urban Poor
Skill development programme for employment promotion for the urban poor will be launched to enable them to access wage employment offered by the market or undertake self-employment. The target will be 10 lakhs over the next 5 years, starting with 2 lakhs in 2009-10. Focus will be on imparting quality training and skill certification through reputed institutions or skills training providers so that the urban poor youth will be enabled to enhance their income and improve their living conditions. At least 30% of the trainees shall be women.
6. Capacity Building to Address Issues of Slums & Poverty
States/UTs would be supported to catalyse State and City Resource Centres (covering cities with population of 1 lakh or more) to serve as resources for the urban poor for employment-related information, market assessment, skill development, training, placement, etc. These centres will also promote measures to improve transparency, right to information, accountability, responsiveness, community participation and sensitivity to the issues faced by the poor including slum-dwellers. The objective is to create/enhance human resource and institutional capacity to implement programmes for the urban poor who need support of the Government the most.
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