Housing is among the basic needs of a man. Our country is dismally short of housing. This is true of our State as well. Over-population is the cause. Owing to it the cost of land in towns and cities has gone skyrocketing. Its impact is discernible in the villages as well. Additionally, our towns and cities have never been raised under a specifically approved housing plan. Of course, in some towns and cities new residential colonies have come up and they are comparatively planned but the old cities and villages remain in a pitiable condition.
In its election manifesto, BJP had given special attention to improvement as well as development of housing system in the towns and villages. We have heard a lot about Smart Cities, an original idea floated by Prime Minister Modi. That scheme is in the offing. In the meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has taken up a centrally sponsored flagship scheme mooted by the Prime Minister and called ‘Housing for All by 2022’. This mega project will cover about 4041 statutory towns with initial focus on 500 Class I cities in the country in three phases.
The share of our State in the First Phase of this project is very encouraging. The Union Ministry has sanctioned 946 crore rupees for the development of 25 towns in the State of which 12 are from Jammu region, 11 from Kashmir region and 2 from Ladakh region. We will not go into the details of the scheme. However, the point worthwhile to mention is that this project will be fully financed by the Union Government. Naturally it implies that the details of developmental process will be drawn essentially by the Union Ministry of Housing and Poverty Alleviation in consultation with and agreement of the State Government. What we would emphasize is that the implementation of the project should be in accordance with the parameters laid down by the Central Government. Of course, implementing authority is the State Government and its agencies and subsidiaries but the parameters of the scheme need to be adhered to. The second noteworthy point is that the scheme is to be funded fully by the Central Government. Evidently, the oft-repeated excuse of the State Government of paucity of funds will not be there. There will not be unnecessary bottlenecks in regular flow of funds. All this bodes well and hopefully, after the scheme is implemented in full, the indentified towns will get a new shape and will come closer to modernity. The Government will not stop with the identified 25 towns but plans to carry it forward into Phase II and III bringing all towns within the ambit of the scheme. In the first instance, eligibility of a town for inclusion in the scheme is the minimum population of 30,000. However, the Government intends to lower the slab once Phase I is completed.
Another significant aspect is that focus is on slum dwellers in towns. Owing to movement of population to urban areas, slums have grown because the labour force cannot afford independent dwellings. Thus slums have grown up. Under this scheme, apart from some financial support by the Government to the identified families of slum dwellers, a mechanism of credit facilities from the banks is also under consideration to make the scheme a success. Economically Weaker Sections are the priority of the Government. Development of towns is also necessary in order to defuse congestion in main cities. We hope that development will be of the kind in which almost all facilities available in cities are also provided in the towns. Apart from the issue of congestion, developed towns will provide solution to various administrative glitches also. Unnecessary pressure brought on the administration by certain services like medical and engineering and higher education for retention of favoured functionaries in the city and not relocate those in towns will be solved to a large extent.
We welcome and appreciate the decision taken by the Central Government. Its impact on all sections of population will be salutary and we shall expect the Government and District Development Commissioners to undertake the scheme in shortest possible time.
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