Business Line 14.09.2009
States’ help sought to eradicate slums
Kumari Selja
Our Bureau
New Delhi, Sept. 13
Ms Kumari Selja, Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, on Saturday, unveiled the guidelines for a survey on the slum, poverty and livelihood profile of the cities and towns during the presentation of the Bharat Nirman Quarterly Report.
Speaking at the report presentation, Ms Selja said that States should contribute fully to ensure a slum-free India within five years and set-up the regulatory authorities for the same.
She added that a Bill would be drafted soon and presented in the winter session of the Parliament.
“We are encouraging the public-private partnership model. The ministry will provide gap funding wherever required,” she said. She added that under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), 1.4 million houses have already been sanctioned.
She also said that the Planning Commission has given an in-principle clearance for the concept paper on the Rajiv Awas Yojna.
As part of the new guidelines, the National Buildings Organisation (NBO) in its restructured role will now co-ordinate the socio-economic surveys required for effective implementation of JNNURM and other poverty alleviation programmes.
It will also prepare statistical profiles on aspects such as urban poverty, slums and housing, at both state and national levels.
Also, as the surveys done by various State Governments and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) lacked uniformity across the country, the Ministry added that part financial support would be provided under the JNNURM funds and the scheme of the Urban Statistics for HR and Assessments (USHA).
It added that the role and responsibilities of the ULBs would include preparation of work plan, design and development of the survey, seeking validation and approval of the competent authority of the State Government and quality assurance and maintenance of database on the slum, poverty and livelihood profiles. ULBs will also be responsible for the management of funds received from the Central and State Governments, besides the submission of utilisation certificates.
On the financing pattern, the guidelines state that the NBO and the Ministry will provide a one time grant-in-aid for the socio-economic surveys, to agencies like the State Government or Municipal Corporation.
The grant would follow a certain scale, like Rs 10 lakh for cities with a population of more than four million, Rs seven lakh for cities with a population between one to four million and so on.
