TN sets up panel to frame new housing policy with rural focus too

The Tamil Nadu government is all set to frame a new housing policy catering to urban, rural and integrated townships in the State.
Image of residential buildings used for representational purpose. (Photo | EPS)
Image of residential buildings used for representational purpose. (Photo | EPS)

CHENNAI:  The Tamil Nadu government is all set to frame a new housing policy catering to urban, rural and integrated townships in the State. The policy will provide a broad direction on establishing low-income housing, rental housing and green buildings. It is being drafted by the housing policy committee set up by the State Development Policy Council, a body that advises the government on policies, and formulates programmes to guide the State’s development.

The new policy is aimed at filling the cracks in the Tamil Nadu Affordable Urban Housing and Habitat Policy, which was drafted last year as per the suggestions of the World Bank. The first meeting of the seven-member housing policy committee was held recently.

A committee member told Express the new policy will be completely different from the housing policy approved by the State government in March last year. “The previous policy focused on urban housing and lacked a rural perspective,” the member added.

Former chairman and managing director of the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) V Suresh, who is also a member of the committee, told Express, “The cost of housing has gone up and land is scarce. There is a need for policy interventions. Due to the good groundwork laid in the latter half of the last century, Chennai has good housing projects now.”

Highlighting earlier housing schemes, such as the Anna Nagar, KK Nagar, Ashok Nagar and Nandanam neighbourhood schemes, he added they were trendsetting initiatives. “The State played the role of a facilitator and that was the right approach. I hope we will be able to put through a good document by the end of this year. The low and middle-class income group’s housing needs should also be addressed,” he further said. Suresh had been instrumental in developing a housing policy for Kerala, and has been associated with the Rajasthan government and other organisations in this regard for the last 56 years.

Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC) founder Vanessa Peter, who has been fighting for the homeless, says there are gaps in both rural and urban housing plans under the earlier policy, and these should be addressed. The panel should also comprise members of civil society, communities and beneficiaries, she added.

Hitting out at the World Bank-backed policy that was cleared by the previous government, Vanessa said, “That policy document was not open for public consultation. Before unveiling the new policy, the policy makers should consult the public and community members, and the draft should be made available in Tamil too. Last time, no minutes of the consultation meeting were available, and no update was provided regarding the finalisation of the policy.”

“The DMK had included the need to establish shelters for the homeless in its 2021 election manifesto. We request the government to announce a State-specific, comprehensive shelter scheme for the urban homeless in Tamil Nadu,” Vanessa said.

The previous housing policy was initially developed by Ernst and Young after the German Agency for International Cooperation or (GIZ), appointed it to study the housing scenario and draft a habitat policy for Tamil Nadu.

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