The Hindu 04.02.2011
Socio-economic survey of slums nearing completion
The aim is to develop them under the newly launched RAY
A survey of slums taken up by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) in the city is nearing completion. The Urban Community Development (UCD) wing of the corporation is learnt to have completed more than 90 per cent of the socio-economic survey.
‘Topo survey'
The corporation also took up ‘topo survey' of the slums along with the socio-economic survey to develop them under the newly launched Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY). The topo survey would have details like area of the slum, population, infrastructure available and so on. It would mark the footprints – houses, buildings, underground drainage, drinking water facilities and the like – in the slums.
The socio-economic survey would also cover details like owner of the house, children, age, marriage, livelihood, deaths, if any in the recent past, and reasons for the deaths, schooling, habits, community halls and so on. While the socio-economic survey would be completed in a fortnight, topo survey is expected to be completed in the next three months, officials say.
The corporation would prepare a detailed project report based on the surveys for developing the slums under the RAY. The corporation has identified 109 slums in the city for development under the RAY at an estimated cost of Rs. 2,223 crore.
The stress would be on ‘in situ re-development' of the slum to keep dislocation of slum-dwellers at the lowest possible level. As the objective is realising inclusive growth, relocation of dwellers would be done only where it is absolutely unavoidable, an official explains. But the VMC plans to relocate the people living in 19 hazardous areas, including canal bunds, riverbed and river berm.
The RAY envisages bringing existing slums within the formal system and enabling the dwellers to avail themselves of the same level of basic amenities as those of other areas in the city, while also tackling the shortages of urban land and housing that keep shelter out of the reach of the urban poor.
As the scheme would be implemented in a span of five years, 25 per cent of the identified slums would be developed every year. Under this, the VMC would emphasise on drinking water, sanitation, drains, roads, street lighting, underground drainage, municipal solid waste, linking infrastructure, schools, anganwadi centres, urban health centres, employment, community halls, parks and playgrounds.
