SABARIMALA: NEW DELHI: Within two months of the launch of the Housing for All (Urban) Mission, 15 states have agreed to the Centre’s precondition of urban reforms, thus enabling 305 cities and towns to start constructing houses for the urban poor.
The states that have agreed to implement the reforms that meant doing away with certain permissions and changes in the master plans include: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana and Uttarakhand. “As many as 305 cities and towns in nine of these states have been identified for building houses for the urban poor. These include - Chattisgarh (36 cities/towns), Gujarat (30), Jammu & Kashmir (19), Jharkhand (15), Kerala (15), Madhya Pradesh (74), Odisha (42), Rajasthan (40) and Telangana (34),” the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation said in a statement.Under the Housing for All initiative, the government has set a target of building two crore houses for the poor in urban areas by the year 2022, coinciding with the 75th year of Independence. Under this urban housing mission, the Central government will provide an assistance in the range of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.3 lakh per house.
“The nine states that have identified 305 cities for housing for urban poor, also account for 26 smart cities and 136 AMRUT cities. Of these, Smart City Mission, AMRUT and the housing missions will be implemented in 25 smart city aspirants, enabling convergence of schemes and resources of state and Central governments. In 136 AMRUT cities, housing projects will also be undertaken,” the government said.
In Telangana, both the smart city aspirants of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporations and Warangal, AMRUT and housing missions will be implemented. Similarly, in other AMRUT cities of Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahaboobabad, Miryalaguda, Nalgonada, Nizamabad and Suryapet, Housing for All mission will be implemented resulting in convergence.
Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has welcomed this convergence. He said: “This convergence of urban schemes helps in better utilisation of resources resulting in visible improvement in urban areas. I am glad that the state governments are resorting to a convergence-based approach.”