The slums of India which have been in the limelight since the success of ‘The Slumdog Millionaire’ have been targeted for complete eradication within 5 years by an ambitious UPA government along with President Pratibha Patil on Thursday.
The President has claimed that her government's effort will be to create a slum free India in five years through the Rajiv Awas Yojana, a rehabilitation scheme for the slum dwellers and urban poor, on the lines of Indira Awas Yojana, a successful scheme in many rural areas.
Addressing the need to focus on an urban housing programme for the poor, Patil declared that Rajiv Awas Yojana will be the pilot project for this and all existing affordable housing schemes, including interest subsidy offer, will be included in this project.
Patil said, 15 lakh houses are already under construction. The scheme will also extend financial support under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) to states "that are willing to assign property rights" to people living in slums.’’
With an urban housing shortage of around 25 million units and 98% of it falling in the economically weaker section, the Housing Ministry and Urban Poverty Alleviation ministry already had its hands full to live up to the promise of creating a ‘slum-free’ India in 5 years.
However, the President went on with the ambitious aim to revamp crumbling infrastructure in cities and emphasised that JNNURM, with projects of around Rs 50,000 crore under their belt, will continue to focus on upgrading cities’ infrastructure and public transport with enhanced support.
Sounds too good to be true! But let’s all keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best…
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