The Pioneer  10.11.2010

Staff Reporter | Bhopal

Urban Administration and Development Minister Babulal Gaur has instructed officers for speedy implementation of Rajiv Awas Yojana, which envisages making cities slum-free. He said that this Union Government project is quite useful for the urban poor. The project should be implemented speedily in the selected cities of the state.

Gaur was addressing an orientation workshop under the project here on Tuesday at the auditorium of Urban Administration and Development Directorate. Those present on the occasion included Principal Secretary Urban Administration and Development SPS Parihar, Director Rajiv Awas Yojana Deepti Goud Mukherjee, Director Project Uday Kalpana Shrivastava, commissioners and additional commissioners of municipal corporations and officers of the Urban Administration and Development Department.

Gaur said that major cities in the State should be rid of slums by taking advantage of the Union Government's Rajiv Awas Yojana. He said that officers should also see to it that no new slums come up in the cities.

At the outset, Commissioner Urban Administration SN Mishra informed the workshop that five cities - Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Gwalior and Ujjain - have been selected in the first phase of Rajiv Awas Yojana in the state. Detailed project report of these cities will be prepared within one-and-a-half months. Officials informed that out of these cities, the DPR of Indore Municipal Corporation was almost complete.

Director of Union Government's Rajiv Awas Yojana Deepti Goud Mukherjee said that the project has been launched with a view to providing clean and healthy residences to the urban poor living in slum areas. The Union Government will provide 50 per cent of the cost to be incurred on the construction of these houses as subsidy. The rest of 50 per cent cost will be borne by the State Government and the Municipal Corporation concerned and the beneficiary.

The share of the beneficiary will be 10 per cent. She informed that the Union Government will provide assistance under Rajiv Awas Yojana to only those States, which have given ownership rights to slum dwellers.