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Slum Development / Housing

Action plan prepared for slum-free city

Friday, 22 October 2010 10:19 administrator
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The Hindu  22.10.2010

Action plan prepared for slum-free city

Special Correspondent

Centre will fund Rs.11,282 crore project in five phases under RAY

HYDERABAD: The GHMC has prepared a plan of action for making a ‘slum free' capital through their integrated development by providing for basic amenities and affordable housing at an estimated cost of Rs.11,282 crore.

Hyderabad is among the select cities marked by the Central government for the plan and it will foot the entire bill in five phases as grants under the ambitious Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY). Precise guidelines by the Union Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and allocation of funds are to come out in two months. The Municipal Corporation is expecting at least Rs. 500 crore as the first tranche in the forthcoming Union Budget.

RAY objectives are up gradation of existing slums by making provision for infrastructure and housing, redevelopment of model housing on site in partnership with a private developer and total relocation. There are 1,475 slums in the twin cities of which 1,178 are recognized and 297 not.

These are further to be divided into hazardous and non-hazardous slums with the former to be identified for total relocation to a nearby site. For the second category, the enumeration will look into present condition of houses and requirement of modern dwellings, basic infrastructure, etc.

Senior officials claim that basic data of all the slums was completed and a strategy too was developed to realize the goals of the scheme. The Centre for Good Governance (CGG) has released a Management Information System (MIS) module and uploaded the data. Integration of GIS and MIS data for 300 slums is currently on as well as development of a GIS map for each slum.

Modern housing could be in the public, private partnership (PPP) mode where cross subsidization can be done through Floor Space Index (FSI) and land use concessions. Development can also be through individuals and group societies to be formed.

Slums identified for development under the PPP mode will further be categorized based on availability of land, value and location to plan for dwelling units, basic infrastructure and area for commercial activity.

Last Updated on Friday, 22 October 2010 10:20
 

Mhada to revamp its largest colony

Thursday, 21 October 2010 12:02 administrator
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Hindustan Times   21.10.2010

Mhada to revamp its largest colony

 
The 128-acre Motilal Nagar colony in Goregaon, one of the largest colonies built by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) in Mumbai, is being considered for redevelopment. The Mhada board on Tuesday, after receiving a revamp offer from the Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL), decided to call for tenders from other developers seeking a better deal. “Our aim is to get the maximum number of affordable homes for citizens,” said Satish Bhide, chief officer, Mhada (Mumbai Board).   

HDIL, apart from offering bigger houses to existing residents, has offered Mhada 16,541 low-cost apartments – 1,561 at Motilal Nagar and 14,980 at Virar.

Mhada still owns the land on which Motilal Nagar is built.

Constructed in 1960, Motilal Nagar houses 3,628 tenants belonging to economically weaker sections.

The majority of houses are 200 square feet in size but due to scarcity of space, many have extended their flats illegally. The revamp of this colony has been pending for years and more than 95% of the structures do not have conveyance deeds, which effectively means they do not own the land.

“We have the expertise to execute such a project as we are already undertaking the airport slum project,” said Hari Prakash Pande, deputy general manager (finance), HDIL.

HDIL submitted the proposal under the Swiss Challenge System, where private players put innovative ideas before the government. The government then scrutinises the same and this proposal is put to the test by inviting competitive proposals from other market players.

According to real estate experts, this provides an excellent opportunity to create a virtual modern township in the city.

“It should be planned well given the massive size, and the product offered should be good,” said Akshay Kulkarni, executive director (residential services), Cushman and Wakefield, a real estate consultancy firm.

According to Mhada officials, in the plot size of 128 acres, the builder is allowed to construct 1.30 crore square feet of real estate. After rehabilitating existing tenants in bigger houses and also offering houses to Mhada, the developer is still left with 1 crore square feet to sell in the open market.

“This is a virtual goldmine and the profits are phenomenal,” said Pankaj Kapoor, managing director, Liasas Foras, a real estate research firm.

“Even if the builder makes a minimal profit of Rs 4,000 per square foot, he would still be richer by Rs 4,000 crore,” he added.

Last Updated on Thursday, 21 October 2010 12:04
 

Eviction: Slum-dwellers besiege BMC

Thursday, 21 October 2010 11:46 administrator
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The New Indian Express  21.10.2010

Eviction: Slum-dwellers besiege BMC

BHUBANESWAR: Hundreds of slum-dwellers today laid siege to Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), protesting eviction.

The agitators belonged to Tarini Basti and were peeved with the way the civic body had attempted to throw them out of their homes. They alleged that BMC and other civic agencies had arrived for eviction on October 18 without any prior notice.

However, their strong protest prevented BMC officials from going ahead with the eviction.

The slum-dwellers served a notice of caution on the civic body saying if it attempts to evict them in future, the situation may turn serious. “The corporation will remain responsible for any law and order problem arising out of the future eviction attempt,” an agitator said.

The slum-dwellers also submitted a memorandum to the BMC before vacating the place.

Last Updated on Thursday, 21 October 2010 11:51
 
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