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Slum Development / Housing

Concern over housing scheme implementation

Friday, 30 July 2010 05:00 administrator
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The Hindu     30.07.2010

Concern over housing scheme implementation

Staff Reporter

MADURAI: Collector C. Kamaraj came down heavily on the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB), Town Panchayat and Municipal Department officials for the poor implementation of a Centrally-sponsored affordable housing scheme.

Addressing a Standing Committee meeting for banking development here on Monday, he said that the progress in execution of the Interest Subsidy Scheme for Housing Urban Poor (ISHUP) for which TNEB is the nodal agency was very lacklustre.

Taking the officials to task for having sent only 913 applications to banks when the target for Madurai district in the current financial year was 5,260, he said that he was contemplating writing to the Managing Director of the TNHB.

Pointing out that the target areas had high population, he demanded a proper explanation from the officials for this inadequate performance despite the scheme having been operational for three months. Stating that the “efforts were lacking on part of the local body officials,” he said that monthly targets would be fixed from now on.

RBI directive

He also expressed unhappiness over the slow progress of banks in Madurai in implementing a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directive to provide financial services to unbanked villages with population above 2,000 before March, 2011.

He said that the district administration would come down heavily on the banks if the targets were not met. He extracted a firm commitment from the representatives of the public sector banks over which date they would cover the villages allotted to them.

Reviewing the progress of Madurai Aavin in executing ‘Integrated Dairy Farm for Women Self-Help Groups,' the Collector expressed displeasure to its General Manager (in-charge) K. Thangarajan. He also told the official to achieve the entire target of 50 villages within one month. He also reviewed various other government schemes.

KN. Subramanian, Lead District Manager, informed the bankers that the limit for collateral-free agriculture loan had been increased by the RBI from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1 lakh to ensure free flow of credit to farmers.

B.R. Balasunder, Deputy Manager of Madurai circle of Canara Bank, the Lead Bank for Madurai district; A.J. George, RBI Assistant General Manager; K.V.S. Kumar, Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Madurai Region; R. Shankar Narayan, Assistant General Manager, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD); and A. Thangavel, Project Officer, Mahalir Thittam, among others, took part in the meeting.

Last Updated on Friday, 30 July 2010 05:02
 

Plea against TNSCB construction rejected

Thursday, 29 July 2010 06:07 administrator
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The New Indian Express  29.07.2010

Plea against TNSCB construction rejected

Express News Service

 

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has rejected a plea to restrain the TN Slum Clearance Board and other authorities from carrying out any reclamation and/or construction activity at Okkiyam-Thoraipakkam village and to restore the land to its original state.

By a GO dated July 4, 2006, the revenue department alienated 7.95 hectares of land at Okkiyam Thoraipakkam to the TNSCB for construction of tenements for tsunami affected people and other slum dwellers evacuated from city slums. The Board by a notice dated October 21, 2008, invited tenders for building more residential flats in the area. Hence, the present public interest writ petition from Susetha, a ward member of Okkiyam Thoraipakkam.

Rejecting each and every contention of the petitioner, a bench comprising justices Elipe Dharma Rao and K K Sasidharan said the area of construction did not fall within the prohibitory zone and it was not a marshy land or a water body or backwater area. The State was empowered to change and modify the classification of the land having regard to the contemporary nature of the land and one could not expect that the classification would be static and stagnant at all times without change by passage of time.

The writ petition lacked bona fides. Petitioner herself having constructed a house in the area, she was trying to term the area as prohibited one relying on revenue classification of the land in 1911. The land in question had been reclassified by the State owing to the contemporary nature and its position, long ago. In fact, it was a well developed area as of now. All this would show that the petitioner had not approached this court with clean hands, the bench said, and dismissed the petition. The bench, however, directed the State and the Board to attend to the needs of residents of Kannagi Nagar and the surrounding areas.

They should also ensure regular water supply, which would solve many problems of the residents.

Last Updated on Thursday, 29 July 2010 06:16
 

Slum dwellers get aid to construct houses

Wednesday, 30 June 2010 05:04 administrator
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The Hindu         30.06.2010

Slum dwellers get aid to construct houses

Staff Reporter

Mayor hands over cheques to 179 beneficiaries

— Photo: A. Shaikmohideen

For Better facilities:Mayor A. L. Subramanian handing over assistance to a beneficiary in Tirunelveli on Tuesday.

TIRUNELVELI: Mayor A.L. Subramanian on Tuesday handed over assistance worth Rs. 33.81 lakh to 179 slum dwellers to construct permanent houses under the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP).

The Tirunelveli Corporation in December 2007 resolved to forward an expansive proposal for Rs.19.99 crore to the Union Government to ensure holistic development of 69 slums under its jurisdiction by providing adequate shelter and basic infrastructure facilities.

Through cluster approach, the IHSDP aims at combining the Central schemes of Valmiki – Ambedkar Andhyodaya Yojana and National Slum Development Project to make better shelter and basic amenities accessible to the urban slum-dwellers living in dilapidated conditions.

The components for assistance under this scheme would include all slum improvement, upgradation, relocation programmes including upgradation, construction of houses and creation of infrastructural facilities such as water supply, roads, streetlights, solid waste management, toilets and underground drainage.

Plan

According to the plan submitted by the Corporation, nearly 200 houses in the slums located at Thatchanallur, Tirunelveli, Palayamkottai and Melapalayam Zones, would be upgraded at a cost of over Rs.80 lakh (Rs.40,000 for each house) while 104 new houses would be constructed for slum-dwellers on an outlay of Rs.83.20 lakh (Rs.80,000 for each house).

While SC/ST/BC/OBC/Physically Handicapped beneficiaries and other weaker sections would have to give their contribution of 10 per cent, others would be required to give 12 per cent.

To improve supply of protected drinking water to these areas, the civic body had sought Rs.28.50 lakh for laying the distribution pipelines for a stretch of 33.45 km and Rs.55 lakh for the construction of 26 overhead tanks (13 in Thatchanallur, 1 in Palayamkottai, 2 in Melapalayam and 10 in Tirunelveli Zones).

Two community toilets – one each at Palayamkottai and Tirunelveli – would be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs.10 lakh.

A total of 165 streetlights would be provided on an outlay of Rs.26.05 lakh.

Since roads traversing the slums within the Corporation limits are in a bad shape, the urban body had sought an allocation of Rs.2.70 crore for relaying roads for a distance of 23.65 km.

A total of 170 garbage bins and tricycles would be procured at a cost of Rs.43.10 lakh to strengthen the solid waste management programme of the Corporation.

For establishing storm water drain for 25.71 km, the Corporation requires Rs.3.21 crore and another Rs.13 lakh would be earmarked for creation of new parks in the slums.

Disbursal begins

As the Centre had endorsed Tirunelveli Corporation's proposal, disbursal of assistance to the beneficiaries under IHSDP had commenced.

When Mr. Subramanian handed over the cheques, 179 beneficiaries – 81 from Thatchanallur, 43 from Palayamkottai, six from Melapalayam and 49 from Tirunelveli – received the assistance in the presence of Commissioner N. Subbaiyan, Executive Engineer V. Narayanan Nair and councillors.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 June 2010 05:06
 
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