DPindex-habitat-jan08-infocus
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A section of
DOCPOST which is an
extract, executive
summary, index
rolled into one.
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HOUSING
SITUATION
What
affordable housing takes
It
will take extraordinary political commitment and liberal public
funding during the 11th Plan for affordable housing to become a
credible goal. The National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy of the
United Progressive Alliance government seeks to make access to
housing, long acknowledged as a fundamental right, a reality for all.
The task is staggering even if we go by conservative estimates. The
housing shortage to be met during the Plan is 26.53 million units,
which include the backlog from the 10th Plan. If the existing stock
of poor quality dwellings and the growing urbanisation-driven demand
are taken into account, the real deficit will be even higher. The new
national policy has the laudable objective of prioritising housing
access for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward
Classes, minorities, economically weaker sections (EWS), women, and
the physically handicapped. Improving housing for the EWS is not a
new goal; it has been incorporated in city development plans for
years. But it has not been a success because it is poorly enforced
and does not have an innovative financing mechanism.
The
Hindu, 03/01/2008
300
huts demolished in Domingkuppam
The
Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) demolished around 300 huts in
the Domingkuppam area on Friday. As the rain hurtled down, huts of
several families were razed.
The
Hindu, 05/01/2008
Cement
subsidy offer for the economically weak
Seven
private cement manufacturers have come forward to sell cement at Rs.
200 a bag to people belonging to economically backward sections and
the lower middle class.
They
have proposed that a maximum of 400 bags (50 kg a bag) will be
supplied to each consumer on the basis of permits to be issued by
district officials concerned. Their calculation is that these
sections of the society will construct dwelling units in the range of
500-1,000 sq. ft. As per a construction thumb rule, 20 kg of cement
is needed for building one sq. ft. Such consumers will have to make
their payment in advance by demand drafts. In each purchase, the
minimum quantity should be 50 bags.
The
Hindu, 10/01/2008
Mhada's
slum TDR fetches record price
Another
record was created in the city's real estate industry on Wednesday
when slum TDR (transfer of development rights) belonging to the
Maharashtra housing and area development authority (Mhada) fetched an
all-time high price of Rs 3,275 a sq ft. This is the first time the
rate of slum TDR has reached this level since it was introduced by
the state government a decade ago.
Nauzer
Bharucha, 10/01/2008
Focus
on housing rights of marginalised communities
Houses
of standard quality and choice of the locality they wished to reside
in were the rights of the marginalised persons who were victims of
disasters, said speakers at a conference held here recently, on
housing rights of the marginalised communities in disasters.
The
Hindu, 14/01/2008
Scheme
to provide houses for resettled residents yet to take off
A
government funded scheme to provide alternative accommodation to 2,200
families, evicted several years ago to make way for the Mass Rapid
Transit System, at Mylai Balaji Nagar in Pallikaranai Town Panchayat,
remains a non-starter.
by
K.Manikandan, The Hindu, 14/01/2008
PIL
on, but MIG builder wants demolition
A
section of residents of MG Group III, one of the eight housing
societies in a Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority
(Mhada) colony in Gandhinagar, Bandra East, has been on tenterhooks
for the last few days. The reason: their managing committee wants
them to sign an MoU with a builder for redevelopment despite the fact
that the Bombay high court has passed an interim order in an ongoing
PIL that the colony "can demolish at its own risk".
Residents, who would prefer to wait for the PIL to be disposed of,
have now been asked by the managing committee to move out within two
months.
by
Radha Rajadhyaksha, The Times of India, 17/01/2008
PIL
admitted on Cuffe Parade slum redevpt
Have
various government agencies connived with a builder to help him
redevelop a prime 30-acre slum plot behind the World Trade Centre in
Cuffe Parade using forged documents and backdated letters? The plot
is almost one-and-a-half times the size of Oval Maidan. The Bombay
high court has admitted a PIL filed by four residents of the area
against the alleged fraudulent manner in which the developer,
Plymouth Constructions, showed that he has the mandatory 70% consent
of the slum dwellers to redevelop the plot.
by
Nauzer Bharucha, The Times of India, 25/01/2008
Open
spaces for slum schemes: HC hears PIL
The
high court is hearing public interest litigations filed by citizens'
groups challenging the government law permitting slum rehabilitation
projects on land earmarked for open spaces, gardens and playgrounds
by
Shibu Thomas, The Times of India, 24/01/2008
Slum
rehab builders a front for city's politicians
What
do the son of a leading state minister, an MLA-turnedbuilder from the
western suburbs, a former housing minister, the sonin- law of a
deceased politician, and a senior party leader from Chembur have in
common? Each of them has financial stakes in slum redevelopment
schemes on public land in Mumbai. When the Maharashtra Housing and
Area Development Authority (Mhada) recently stopped builders from
redeveloping slums encroached on its lands, many city politicians
vehemently protested, saying that poor slum dwellers would be denied
low-cost housing.
by
Nauzer Bharucha, The Times of India, 26/01/2008
Govt
mulls housing solutions
Faced with
a massive shortage of houses - 2.47 crore - in urban
areas, the government is now looking at several initiatives, including
a proposal to provide fiscal and other incentives to organisations that
provide houses for their employees and individuals who buy them for
renting purposes.
by
Hemendra Singh Bartwal, The Hindustan Times, 9/01/2008
