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Slum Development / Housing

Four housing projects sanctioned for East Godavari

Monday, 27 August 2012 00:00 administrator
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The New Indian Express    27.08.2012

Four housing projects sanctioned for East Godavari

- RAJAHMUNDRY

 The government has sanctioned four Urban Housing Projects (UHPs) for East Godavari district. Under the four projects, 8,256 houses will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 150 crore. A sum of Rs 27 crore has been sanctioned for creation of basic infrastructure in the new colonies.

 In Kakinada Municipal Corporation, 3,120 houses will be constructed at a cost of `65.61 crore. As many as 2,832 houses at a cost of Rs 47.83 crore will come up in Rajahmundry Municipal Corporation.

 In Peddapuram municipality, 1,416 houses at a cost of Rs 22. 73 crore will be built.  In all, 888 houses at a cost of Rs 20. 07 crore will be constructed in Samalkot municipality.

The housing projects will be executed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

 Of the total cost of a house, the Central Government will bear Rs 80,000. Under Indiramma Urban Housing Scheme, Rs 41,000 will be provided.  The beneficiary needs to bear the remaining cost.

 Of the total 3,120 houses sanctioned for Kakinada Municipal Corporation, 2,592 units will be built at Etimoga, 492 at Parlovapeta and 36 houses at Sambamurthi Nagar.

 In Rajahmundry, 2,256 houses will be constructed in the endowments land and Rs 8. 53 crore has been sanctioned for basic basic infrastructure. In Peddapuram, the houses will be built in G+1 mode.

 The average cost of each house will vary depending upon the locality. According to officials of the Housing Corporation, the government issued GO 238 on Wednesday sanctioning four housing projects for East Godavari. The construction of houses will be taken up soon.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 28 August 2012 06:13
 

Gujarat Housing Board aims high, plans to build skyscrapers

Friday, 24 August 2012 09:09 administrator
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The Times of India    24.08.2012

Gujarat Housing Board aims high, plans to build skyscrapers

AHMEDABAD: After almost a decade, the cry for affordable housing by the urban middle-class and lower-middle class has literally shaken the state government which does not want to take any chances in this election year.

Recently, the state urban development department (UDD) via a notification has allowed residential buildings as tall as 70 metres for Gujarat Housing Board (GHB) schemes. This is something unthinkable in a state post 2001 earthquake where residential buildings have barely managed to cross the 40m height. The height provision is only allowed for GHB residential schemes and is extended to the two GHB land parcels in Hathijan and one land parcel located at the new transport node in the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

"It's purely the wish of the GHB if they want to have buildings of 70m height. We've allowed the GHB a Floor Space Index (FSI) of 3.0 and there is no need for them to pay any premiums against this. Normally constructions in Gujarat are only allowed an FSI of 1.8. This strategy will go a long way towards providing affordable housing for a large chunk of middle class," said a senior urban development officer.

Housing commissioner, GHB, A K Rakesh told TOI, "We had issued tenders seeking expression of interest from consultants last year in June for designing these schemes for us and then again in May this year, the UDD's notification allowed a height of 70m for GHB housing schemes. There will be two GHB residential schemes in Rajkot and one each in Vadodara and Surat. We have no concept of 'super built-up area' and buyers will be offered houses in the area range of 40 sq m, 60 sq m and 80 sq m."

Added a senior urban development official: "Does the government know how much land it holds and their locations in various cities and towns under Urban Land Ceiling Act? These huge land parcels were to be utilized for urban poor housing. Many such land parcels are located amid posh localities of cities. But is the government prepared to make housing societies for the poor in rich neighborhoods?"

Last Updated on Friday, 24 August 2012 09:10
 

Rental housing scheme: 3,000 units empty as MMRDA awaits clarity

Wednesday, 22 August 2012 11:31 administrator
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The Indian Express   22.08.2012

Rental housing scheme: 3,000 units empty as MMRDA awaits clarity

Around 3,000 tenements for the ambitious rental housing scheme - which had started off on shaky ground - to check proliferation of slums in Mumbai metropolitan region are ready after a long delay but are still unoccupied. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) implementing the scheme is unsure of how to allocate the houses to the public and is awaiting more clarity from the state government, in the form of a formal order.

Earlier this year, a committee chaired by MMRDA Commissioner Rahul Asthana had made some recommendations to the state government and suggested that the nature of the project be changed to affordable housing with just 15 percent of the total stock to be put out on rent. In a high-level meeting on May 9, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan accepted most of the recommendations, but a formal order has not been drafted to this effect.

“The state government hasn’t given formal approval to the recommendations, based on which we can start allocating the tenements. We have been routinely following up. No specific reason has been assigned for the delay,” said Uma Adusumilli, chief of MMRDA’s rental housing cell.

The MMRDA had taken possession of about 1,500 of the 3,000 houses in June this year and has been paying maintenance and security ever since.

A senior MMRDA official said, “Another 1,500 houses are also ready, but the MMRDA was trying to defer taking possession because then the authority will have to maintain them. After all, it’s the state’s money being used for this. But the MMRDA will have to take possession soon because how long will the developer keep the houses with him?”

Houses constructed so far are part of two rental housing projects in Thane in Vartak Nagar and Manpada. The project at Vartak Nagar, dubbed Dosti Vihar, has 1,492 rental tenements in four buildings along with 32 shops, four balwadis, four welfare centres and four cabins for caretakers. The MMRDA is yet to take possession of these. The Manpada project, Dosti Imperia, has contributed 1,429 houses in five buildings to MMRDA’s rental stock.

The rental housing scheme was launched in 2008 to prevent growth of slums by constructing and renting out 160 square feet houses with rents ranging from Rs 800 to Rs 1,500. The MMRDA had set a target of five lakh units in five years.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 22 August 2012 11:32
 
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