Housing: Govt. sets constituency-wise targets

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, JUNE 13. The Karnataka Government is according priority for housing and has set targets constituency-wise. The Deputy Commissioners and Chief Executive Officers have been directed to make government land available by July 31 for housing purposes, the Minister for Housing, Mr. Qamar-ul-Islam, announced here today.

After a review meeting of the Housing Department, the Minister told presspersons that an eight-month deadline had been set for completion of two lakh houses. The list of beneficiaries would be ready by July 31. Mr. Islam said where government land was not available, the officials would be asked to purchase land and set it aside for housing purposes.

One of the major decisions taken at the meeting, presided over by the Chief Minister, Mr. S. M. Krishna, he said, was improvement of slums across the State. A sum of about Rs. 753 crores was required for the slum development projects (Rs. 237 crores for slum upgradation; Rs. 419 crores for facilities such as individual taps, street lighting etc; Rs. 36 crores for training slum dwellers and Rs. 60 crores for shifting some slums).

Upgradation of 979 slums in 21 cities itself required Rs. 237 crores, and the Chief Minister, had agreed to release Rs. 100 crores this year. Of the Rs. 100 crores, HUDCO assistance would be to the extent of Rs. 70 crores and the remaining would be borne by the State Government. Mr. Islam said the Government was trying to get grants from Japan. There were 2,322 slums in the State, of which 1,612 came under the Slum Clearance Board. The total slum population was 23.79 lakhs.

To ensure implementation of the programmes listed at the meeting, project implementation committees would be constituted soon. On the joint venture proposal for housing, he said 275 acres of land had been allocated near the Electronic City. Fifty per cent of the units would be Low Income Group housing and the remaining will be Middle Income Group and High Income Group housing.

The Government would also make available land in Mandya (200 acres), Hoskote (35 acres), Shimoga (50 acres), Davanagere (49 acres), Mangalore (33 acres) and Hubli (20 acres).

With regard to the Koramangala housing complex in Bangalore, he said a high power committee would go into it to ensure immediate disposal of flats. In all, 1,096 flats were vacant. As for Kengeri Satellite Township, he said of the 2,524 apartments only 153 needed to be sold. In Yelahanka 98 had to be sold. The Housing Board had given clearance for landscaping in Yelahanka and this would cost Rs. 9 crores.

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