VADODARA: In a first of
its kind attempt in the city, Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) is
planning to give an allowance towards rent to those slum dwellers, who
are displaced because of the construction of housing schemes for the
urban poor. These families will be paid Rs 1,000 towards rent.

The VMC had started a major drive to make houses under Jawharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
(JnNURM). A novel scheme of ‘in situ cum relocation’ was adopted
wherein the residents of slum pockets were to be displaced only for the
period when the houses came up there.

While this was successful
in the first phase of the construction of the housing schemes, in the
second there were some hiccups and a petition was also filed in Gujarat
high court. The VMC had reached a settlement with the petitioners in the
case and agreed to provide slum dwellers alternative housing before
their houses were razed. But some slum dwellers did not vacate houses
even after they were given residences, thus delaying the entire process.

In an attempt to avoid such hiccups in the third and fourth phase of the housing schemes under JnNURM,
the civic body had included a proposal of giving rent to the residents
in its detailed project reports. But the component was not cleared. The
VMC itself is now considering to bear the rent amounting to Rs 1,000.

It has been proposed that the civic body pay rent to 2,210 families
residing in various areas of the city. The civic body will have to pay
over Rs 5.3 crore as rent for a period of two years to such families.
The proposal has been put up before the standing committee which will
take a decision on Saturday.