The Indian Express      05.09.2012

PMC goes for slum-free wards to avail Central funds

With the Union government insisting on innovative methods for slum rehabilitation under its Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) to make the city slum-free, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to implement electoral ward free slum initiative to avail government funding and achieve the set objective.

“The funding would be based on the innovative method adopted for rehabilitation work. Therefore, it was necessary to start work with a different approach and the PMC decided to take up the pilot project of slum-free wards,” said Poonam Mehta, livelihood development specialist appointed by the PMC.

Based on the success of the project, the PMC would prepare a plan for the entire city under the scheme, she said. “The problems in each electoral wards are different and slum situation differs in all the wards. Therefore, the plans would be slum specific. Slumdwellers will not be relocated at a long distance from their existing place.”

The project will be implemented by the local civic body but the work in the city has been entrusted to the slum rehabilitation authority (SRA), she said. “A lot of time has been wasted on getting the state government’s approval for allowing SRA to take up the work on behalf of the PMC,” she said.

The execution of pilot project has begun and SRA has started talking to the slumdwellers about the advantages of the project, Mehta said.

Meanwhile, a detail survey of the socio-economic status of each slum in each of the electoral ward has been conducted and the planning for the entire city has begun. Deputy Municipal Commissioner B T More said the PMC is implementing the pilot project in Dhankawadi electoral ward that has five slums.

With the Union government insisting on innovative methods for slum rehabilitation under its Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) to make the city slum-free, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to implement electoral ward free slum initiative to avail government funding and achieve the set objective.

“The funding would be based on the innovative method adopted for rehabilitation work. Therefore, it was necessary to start work with a different approach and the PMC decided to take up the pilot project of slum-free wards,” said Poonam Mehta, livelihood development specialist appointed by the PMC.

Based on the success of the project, the PMC would prepare a plan for the entire city under the scheme, she said. “The problems in each electoral wards are different and slum situation differs in all the wards. Therefore, the plans would be slum specific. Slumdwellers will not be relocated at a long distance from their existing place.”

The project will be implemented by the local civic body but the work in the city has been entrusted to the slum rehabilitation authority (SRA), she said. “A lot of time has been wasted on getting the state government’s approval for allowing SRA to take up the work on behalf of the PMC,” she said.

The execution of pilot project has begun and SRA has started talking to the slumdwellers about the advantages of the project, Mehta said.

Meanwhile, a detail survey of the socio-economic status of each slum in each of the electoral ward has been conducted and the planning for the entire city has begun. Deputy Municipal Commissioner B T More said the PMC is implementing the pilot project in Dhankawadi electoral ward that has five slums.