It is the reign of centrism for the moment and witnessing the feats of Indian National Congress in the last general election, almost all Indian political parties are leaving no stone unturned to exploit the same. The latest to join the bandwagon is the state of Orissa and its prime cities, Bhubaneswar (state capital) and Puri (abode of Lord Jagannath). The state government, equipped with a Central grant of Rs. 100 crore, has come out with its policy of developing the condition of housing infrastructure for the urban poor and the two cities will have good growths in this context.
It has come to the knowledge that of the total grant of Rs 100 crore, Rs 50 crore is for Bhubaneswar while the balance Rs 50 crore would be spent for housing projects for the economically weaker sections in Puri. Both the cities are jubilant, as a result.
Speaking on this, AK Panda, Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development of the Orissa Government stated, “The Centre has indicated that a grant of Rs 100 crore would be given to Orissa for building affordable homes for the urban poor in Bhubaneswar and Puri. We expect to receive the Central grant within a month.” It is to be noted that the Rs 100-crore grant from the Centre is under the scheme called Affordable Housing for All, which comes under the wider ambit of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNUURM).
Nevertheless, the ideal manner for execution of the projects for the urban poor is yet to be decided as things were still at a theoretical stage.
In this regard Panda, on the occasion of a session on Comprehensive Development Plan of Bhubaneswar, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said, “We will convene a meeting of the real estate developers in Orissa soon to decide the mode of implementation of the housing projects.”
As per him, the state urban development department would appear with a policy paper on developing housing projects for the urban poor on the public private partnership (PPP) mode before long.
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