M A I N   N E W S

10 lakh houses for urban poor soon: PM
Inaugurates Rs 2,400-crore housing project for slum-dwellers in Chandigarh
Rajmeet Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 14
Nearly 10 lakh houses would be constructed in several cities for the urban poor over the next four years under the Rajiv Awas Yojana, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday.

He made the announcement while inaugurating a Rs 2,400-crore housing project for slum-dwellers at Dhanas village in Chandigarh. Under the scheme, 8,000 houses have been constructed. Handing over possession letters of flats to 10 beneficiaries, the Prime Minister said rapid urbanisation had led to the problem of growing slums in cities.

Hoping that Chandigarh will soon be the first slum-free city in the country, he said: “I believe such important projects will give a new dimension to the country in its journey to become a developed nation.”

The strength of people living in slums was estimated to grow from 10 crore to 10.4 crore by 2017. The increase in urban population would put immense pressure on urban infrastructure in the next couple of years, the Prime Minister said, adding that the urban population in the country was going to increase by 22 crore in 20 years.

“Urbanisation is taking place at a rapid pace. In 1971, the urban population was 11 crore. In the last 40 years, the urban population has gone up by 27 crore,” he said.

The Prime Minister said Rs 41,000 crore would be invested for constructing 15.6 lakh houses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. He appreciated the efforts of the Chandigarh Administration and Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) for taking up the rehabilitation programme that would benefit around 40,000 persons.

A total of 8,448 flats each of 267 square feet have been built under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission scheme.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Girija Vyas, Punjab Governor & UT Administrator Shivraj Patil and Chandigarh MP Pawan Kumar Basal.

Patil sought more financial support from the Centre for developing slums. Haryana Governor Jagan Nath Pahadia, Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal and Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda were also present at the event.