The Tamil Nadu Government will have to spend `65,000 to make cities and towns slum free before 2023, according to Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board sources.
As per the census of 2011, a total of 14.63 lakh families are living in urban slums. Sources told Express that the government proposed to take up schemes in three components to realise its Vision 2023.
Sources said the plan is to invest `25,000 crore in a slum-free city programme in Chennai and agglomeration areas, and another `25,000 investment to have slum-free city programme for world class cities.
There is also a proposal for the investment of `15,000 crore for a slum-free city programme in the rest of the urban areas in Tamil Nadu.
Sources said the plan was to implement these projects under the Slum Free Cities programme of the Rajiv Awas Yojana.
Sources said under the Slum Free City programme for Chennai and its agglomeration areas, an action plan has been prepared for Chennai at a cost of `33,659.13 crore to cover over three lakh households living in slum areas and to construct 1.23 lakh new houses for prevention of probable new slums coming up in the future. “The plan will have to get the approval of the Union government,” the sources said.
Talking about the funding pattern, TNSCB sources said that 50 per cent of the funds would be generated by the Centre, 25 per cent from the State and 25 per cent from the beneficiaries. “We will be going in for in situ upgradation of slums. “Slums in unobjectionable areas will be allowed to continue and for those in objectionable areas the slum dwellers will be resettled in other places.”
To a query on whether they would be relocated to the periphery of cities as has been done in the past, the official said the focus was on in situ development.
“The slum dwellers will be resettled in nearby areas,” he said.