|
| Affordable Housing a commercial opportunity: Selja |
| Press Trust of India / New Delhi Oct 09, 2009, 21:43 IST |
|
Welcoming public-private partnership in efforts to provide affordable housing, Union Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja today said it was increasingly being seen as a commercial opportunity and not just a welfare programme.
"It is evident that affordable housing is increasingly being seen as a commercial opportunity, and as a welfare programme which only the Public Sector must implement," Selja said.
Her speech was read out in absentia at the national conference on Public-Private Partnership on housing for poor.
Highlighting the significance of this sector, the minister said, "The urban housing segment is the largest chunk of the domestic housing market, and is distinguished by being a steady and growing demand that will not shrink or fluctuate with the share markets or the global economy".
Selja, who is busy with the elections in Haryana along with her ministerial responsibilities, also enumerated the impediments to growth of affordable housing.
"The core issue of land at suitable places and at affordable prices has always been the focus of debate. Public authorities who own sizeable pockets of land have, of late, been increasingly resorting to auctioning of land at market prices, ostensibly to raise resources for funding the city," she said.
This had led to a "sea of slums" alongside world class buildings, Selja said.
The minister praised the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for succeeding in creating interest in urban future, and rejuvenating the debate on urban planning.
"Positive action is being taken in various cities and towns (under JNNURM) across the country for plans and projects to expand urban land availability, reduce housing scarcities, redress the norms of town planning and make cities that recognise the realities of our economic growth," she said.
The minister expressed hope for the success of the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) in making India slum-free in the near future and adopting the 'whole city approach'.
"RAY is designed to bring existing slums within the formal system and enable people to avail the same amenities as the rest of the town; as also to redress the failures of the formal system that lie behind the creation of slums and force the poor to resort to extra legal solutions," she said.
Selja maintained that the PPP mode is emerging as an efficient model for delivery of services. "In a Public Private Partnership, the strength of the Public Sector, which controls land, and its regulatory and legal power combines with the initiative and resources of the private sector and its efficiency," she said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Read Business news in |  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advertisements |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content Guide
