Selja bats for new age cities

New Delhi, Nov 4 : Terming slums as the result of faulty urban planning, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja today emphasised the need for fulfilling the unmet need for lower and middle income groups and called upon states to cooperate in achieving the goal of 'slum-free India'.

Stressing that to care of people migrating to cities, she said there was need for developing new age cities, that have all civic amenties. She also said the Government has recognised that housing is a very important source of employment and has a large multiplier effect on the economy.

"Housing has potential for employment and investment opportunities. It stimulates demand in about 20 manufacturing sectors; and there is a large unmet need for housing in the country, especially for middle and low income groups," she said addressing the Economic Editors' Conference here.

The Minister said the UPA Government proposes to introduce a Rajiv Awas Yojana for the slum dwellers and the urban poor. The schemes for affordable housing through partnership and the scheme for interest subsidy for urban housing would be dovetailed into the Rajiv Awas Yojana which would extend support under JNNURM to States that are willing to assign property rights to people living in slum areas.

The Concept Note on RAY was finalised and the Planning Commission has given its 'in principle' approval. "It has now been sent to states for their feedback" she said.

On the draft Model Real Estate (Regulation of development) Act, Ms Selja said suggestions have been invited till November 6, after which a final version will be framed. ''So far, comments and suggestions from 77 stakeholders have been received,'' she said.

The Minister said for the Interest Subsidy Scheme for Housing the Urban Poor (ISHUP), so far 17 banks have signed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the two Central Nodal Agencies (CNAs), namely National Housing Bank (NHB) and Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO) who are to act as financial intermediaries for release of subsidy to PLIs under the Scheme.

The scheme has been conceived for providing interest subsidy on housing urban poor to make the housing affordable and within the repaying capacity of EWS/LIG. It encourages poor sections to avail of loan facilities through Commercial Banks/HUDCO for the purposes of construction of houses and avail five per cent subsidy in interest payment for loans upto Rs. 1 lakh. The total interest subsidy requirements for the construction of 3.10 lakhs houses for EWS/LIG segments financed during the next 4 years (2008-12) is projected at Rs. 1100 crores.

--UNI

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