The National Conference of Ministers of Housing, Urban Development and Municipal Administration has recommended that the year 2010 be declared as the “Year for Affordable Housing”.
In her inaugural address to the conference, the Minister of State for Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation highlighted that growth of large cities is accompanied by an upsurge in urban poverty where in absence of basic services, secure tenure and formal employment opportunities, settlements of the poor become slums with health and environmental concerns.
Among other recommendations are:
•State specific policy focusing on Affordable Housing with supporting action plans for augmenting supply of land at affordable prices should be developed.
•States to draw up the road map and a vision for ‘Slum Free City’.
•Banks to make reservation of at least 1% of their priority sector lending funds for EWS housing
•Review of existing legal and regulatory framework for acquiring/bringing-in additional lands into the market. Secure land tenure may be extended to families living in slums.
•Modify state enactments and city level master plans for upward revision of FAR/FSI to accommodate land allocation for EWS and LIG.
•Land at institutional rates to be made available for low income housing to cooperative housing societies and employee Welfare organizations to those with a good track record.
•Private developers ready to undertake construction of affordable housing in partnership or in a JV with the state may be involved.
•Institutional mechanisms to compile regularly data on housing starts and completions be established.
•Steps may be taken to create a healthy rental market.
•Easy availability of housing finance at concessional rates.
•Strengthen and enlarge Housing Micro-finance.
She mentioned that the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) is addressing the issue of facilitation of basic services for such settlement along with housing and the other scheme of Ministry, Interest Subsidy Scheme for Housing the Urban Poor (ISHUP) is likely to address the issue of availability of institutional finance to these people, who are generally not considered credit worthy by the Banks and Housing Finance Companies.
She requested the State governments supplement the efforts of Centre in creation of additional housing stock by increasing supply of serviced land and new houses by direct intervention through State Housing Boards, Development Authorities, and Cooperative Sector etc.
State governments should also provide a one time incentive in the form of relaxation of Floor Area Ratio (FAR) /Floor Space Index (FSI) norms through appropriate spatial (regulatory) incentives. This would lead to softening of land prices and induce downward trend in house prices.
The social housing programme carries a double benefit: it enables us to significantly improve the quality of life of the slum dwellers and the poor, and provides an impetus to the economy by its tremendous multiplier effect, Selja said.
The National Urban Housing & Habitat Policy, 2007 (NUHHP) adopts the goal of Affordable Housing for All, and seeks to promote multiple schemes and private-public partnerships in order to achieve it.
In view of the housing shortage in the country, 98% of which is in the EWS & LIG segment, it is estimated that 26.53 million houses would be required by the end of the 11th Plan.
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