4 lakh houses for urban poor coming: Sheila
Hindu

‘The estimated cost of dwellings would be Rs.2 lakh each’
Aim to make Delhi slum-free before the upcoming Commonwealth Games in 2010
‘The ownership rights would be vested with the families of the weaker sections’

NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday declared that the Delhi Government would construct four lakh houses for the weaker sections of society and this would help the Capital become slum-free before the upcoming Commonwealth Games in 2010.
Speaking at the inauguration of a new block of Valmiki Sadan on Mandir Marg, Ms. Dikshit said her government would construct low-cost houses for the poor families in various areas. These houses would be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs.2 lakh each and the ownership rights would be vested with the families of the weaker sections.
She said these units would have two rooms, one bathroom and a kitchen and each allottee would be entitled to a grant of Rs.1 lakh under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Rural Mission. The rest of the money would be financed through banks and would be offered on low rates of interest.

The amount, she said, would be refundable in 15 to 25 years and therefore the monthly instalments for a unit would only be between Rs.800 and Rs.1,000, which would be somewhat akin to the monthly rent the allottees are paying at present.
To begin with, Ms. Dikshit said, the Government was constructing houses at Bawana in North West Delhi. Later similar houses would come up in another 11 localities. The new low-cost houses would be non-transferable as these would be registered jointly in the name of man and wife.

She said large-scale construction of low-cost houses would ensure huge benefits to the poor. The low-cost houses would also improve the standard of living of poor families, she pointed out.
Taking up the issue of housing in the NDMC areas, Ms. Dikshit said due to shortage of staff quarters for its employees, the New Delhi Municipal Council authorities had taken the initiative to meet the requirements of their staff by constructing more quarters. She also urged the NDMC to renovate Type-II and Type-III quarters in its area.