Sustainable development needs to be inclusive: Selja

New Delhi, July 7 (ANI): Union Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja said on Tuesday that sustainable development needs to be inclusive and different from mere economic development of the past, and its benefits must last well into the next generation, and beyond.

Delivering the inaugural address at the launch of Habitat Business Forum in New Delhi, the minister emphasised the role of private sector in contributing towards this cause has to be recognized and promoted on a large scale.

She also discussed the importance of Non-Government Organizations, saying that they can be very effective agent for building public awareness at the local level, for mobilizing community action, and for voicing local concerns.

Selja also highlighted that capital intensity of urban growth creates divide between the rich and the poor raising prices of basic amenities and making these inaccessible to poor.

The minister said it was critical that cities devise institutional framework for themselves that satisfy the requirements of good urban governance.

She said it is essential that urban local government translate national policies and programmes into local action.

Referring to the Rajiv Awas Yojana, Selja said the scheme is an effort to promote a slum free India in five years, adding that the government would extend support to states that are willing to assign property rights to people living in slum areas.

Rajiv Awas Yojna will offer a ray of hope to slum dwellers and other urban poor to access a decent and dignified living environment and an affordable home. (ANI)