The Hindu 30.09.2009

Slum survey launched

Delhi Urban Development Minister A. K. Walia on Tuesday launched a detailed survey of slums in Delhi aimed at ensuring basic services for the Capital’s poor:

The Hindu 30.09.2009

Development of three slums in Chitradurga city planned

Staff Correspondent

Convention: Karnataka Slum Clearance Board chairman J. Narasimhaswamy inaugurating a district-level slum dwellers convention in Chitradurga on Tuesday.

Chitradurga: J. Narasimhaswamy, Chairman, Karnataka Slum Clearance Board, has said the board has sent a Rs. 10.4-crore proposal to the Union Government for developing three of the 25 slums in Chitradurga city.

He was speaking after inaugurating a district-level Slum Dwellers’ Convention here on Tuesday organised by the Karnataka Slum Dwellers’ United Association.

He said Vivekananda Nagar, Venkataramanaswamy Extension and Gandhi Nagar were the three slums proposed to be developed under the project. Around 450 slum dwellers would be benefited by the proposal, which was expected to be approved within four months, he said.

On the demand for issue of ‘hakku patra’, Mr. Narasimhaswamy said that since they could be issued only by the civic bodies, the board on its part would issue biometric cards that could be treated as title deeds. “The board has decided to issue biometric cards all slum dwellers for whom new houses are being built. However, if asked, it will issue such cards to other slum dwellers also,” he said.

He said the board had released Rs. 5.5 crore towards improvement of 10 slums in the city, for which a tender had also been invited. But due to some technical reasons it was cancelled. Soon, a fresh tender would be called for to complete the project, he added.

Under the Nirmal Jyoti Project, the Government had already spent Rs. 3 crore on improving basic facilities in slums, he said. Referring to the erstwhile Valmiki Ambdekar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY), a scheme aimed at developing slums, Mr. Narasimhaswamy said many slums had been developed under the scheme, but amenities such as drinking water and toilets had not been provided.

The board had identified many such slums where these facilities would be provided, he said and added that besides these, other benefits such as schools, anganwadis and community halls would also be built.

He said many slum dwellers were insisting that houses be built on the same places where they were residing, but the board wished to relocate them to newer areas. However, wherever possible, the board was trying to build houses in the same places. He said that if the City Municipal Council granted more land, the board would most readily build houses for more slum dwellers.

He said the State now had around 30,000 slums, and the Government planned to make it slum-free.

State honorary president of the association N.P. Sami and district convener Ganesh were present on the occasion.