CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu’s plan to create 12.94 lakh housing stock in 666 statutory towns suffered a blow as the survey on the demand for housing to be carried out by the State government was delayed by lack of data.
The state has identified 12.94 lakh housing stock for economically weaker sections under the ‘Housing for All’ Mission, which was launched by the Union government on June 25 to provide Central assistance to the States for providing house to all before 2022.
The State, which has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Union government, has to conduct a demand survey for assessing the actual housing requirement.
It is a basic necessity which should be fulfilled for it to come out with the Housing for All Plan of Action.
It is learnt that the Slum Clearance Board, which is the State-Level Nodal Agency (SLNA), has started collecting details of urban people. However, the slum board is also relying on the census data to get accurate figures.
The Slum Clearance Board is currently in possession of socio-economic caste census data which was obtained from the National Informatic Centre. But to get the latest status of people it is relying on the National Population Register. Sources reveal that the TNSCB had approached the Regional Census Office in chennai, which rejected the request on grounds of confidentiality.
It is learnt that TNSCB is seeking the help of Census Commissioner of India in this regard.
The Board has sent in the proposal for 191 towns to be included under the first phase for Housing for All Mission to the Union Housing and Urban Development secretary. The State government has directed the Planning Departments to submit proposals to adhere to the centre’s conditions to obtain grant under the ‘Housing for All Scheme.’