Housing schemes for urban poor in northern states reviewed

Chandigarh, Jun 26 (UNI) Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) today said the housing units for urban poor in all states should be completed in all respects, providing all basic facilities.

HUPA Secretary H S Anand in a high-level meeting called to review the progress of implementation of Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP) and Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission for Punjab, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir asked officials any project with realistic cost which fulfills required conditions.

He said housing units for the poor should be provided with water supply, sanitation, drainage, roads, street lighting and solid waste management.

Issuing guidelines to secretaries of the states, Dr Anand stressed upon quality and said until the third party examined the quality of the constructed building, only then the next pay of installment would be cleared.

He said the states had to provide services in a transparent manner as these schemes were in no profit no loss basis. He also reviewed the progress of ongoing works in the states.

Principal Secretary, local government in Punjab D S Bains, while giving presentation said Punjab had made tremendous achievements under the BSUP and IHSDP scheme.

The detailed project report amounting Rs 114.83 crore for construction of flats for slum dwellers in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana had already been approved and the first installment of Rs 22 crore had been released by the Centre, he said.

UNI HS SW CS1736