New Delhi: A high-powered panel formed to
look into the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) for removal of slums and
rehabilitation of slum-dwellers has recommended that the
scheme be extended from five to 20 years and be included in
the JNNURM plan.
Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari
Selja informed the Lok Sabha that her ministry was revising
the parameters of RAY after taking into consideration
recommendations of the Deepak Parekh Committee and was also in
the process of consultation with relevant agencies and
ministries.
Enumerating the recommendations, Selja said the duration
of RAY should extend beyond 5 years to 20 years and this
scheme should be part of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban
Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
"Urban land policies need to be revised and made
inclusive. The RAY city plans should be integrated into JNNURM
and provision of city infrastructure should be made
accordingly," the committee has said.
It has said that the slum community should be involved in
decision making. The provision of "tenurial security" should
be provided by the states as assignment of property rights
would take time.
The Parekh Committee, which was constituted in April
this year, also suggests that the central subsidy to states
should be attractive to work as an incentive.
Interestingly, it has recommended that there should be
less emphasis on PPP for solving the slum problem in small
cities.
Other suggestions include creation of a Mortgage
Guarantee Fund, a corporate structure for proper
implementation of RAY, a credit enabling environment to
facilitate access to long term finance at a concessional rate
for the beneficiaries and rental housing of at least 30 per
cent slums where houses are constructed at the spot.
The Ministry has already launched the "Slum-free City
Planning" scheme for undertaking various preparatory
activities such as slum surveys, Geographical Information
System (GIS) mapping of such clusters, preparation of slum
free city and state plans.
"The budget of the first phase of the above scheme is Rs
120 crore, of which Rs. 60 Crore has been released for 20
States in 2009-10. A budget of Rs 1,270 crore has been
allocated for RAY for the year 2010-11," Selja said.
PTI
First Published: Friday, July 30, 2010, 22:33