New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath Friday said the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) should construct at least 100,000 Economically Weaker Section (EWS) houses every year.
"Houses for the Economically Weaker Section and Lower Income Group (LIG) is the priority for Delhi. DDA has already started construction 20,000 of EWS houses," Nath said Friday.
The minister also said that the need for EWS housing could be met only if one lakh houses are built every year.
"We should start a scheme of building at least one lakh houses per year. Only then we can further stop encroachments and unauthorised colonies," Nath said.
He added that EWS housing project will cost around Rs.5,500 crore and will benefit about 4.5 lakh people directly and one lakh people indirectly.
Talking about the regularising of unauthorised colonies in the capital, the minister said: "There is no option other than to regularise such colonies which have been existing for the past three to four decades."
After the ministry decided to regularise unauthorised colonies in 2007, it has received 1,639 applications in the first phase, out of which 917 colonies have been regularised.
Regularisation of 917 colonies will benefit 40 lakh people in the capital, Kamal Nath said.
The urban development ministry will also regularise religious structures in the national capital built before 2007.
"There are many religious structures in the capital, we need to urgently regularise them. All the structures which have been built before 2007 will be regularised and we will found out a way to give parking space there," minister said.
When asked whether regularising unauthorised colonies will encourage development of such colonies, the minister said stringent monitoring and greater accountability is needed and emphasised it is a civic agency work.
"We cannot demolish these structures because they have existed all along. As of now, we need stricter enforcement and greater accountability on the part of the enforcement agency, which is the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi). The ministry does not enforce things," he said.
The minister also said that the government was considering granting ownership rights to 45 resettlement colonies in the capital.
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