Rajiv Awas Yojana to aim at slum-free India

The Rajiv Awas Yojana, announced in the budget, aims at promoting a slum-free India in five years and would focus on according property rights to slum dwellers, Union Minister for Housing and Poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja, said in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The Rajiv Awas Yojana, announced in the budget, aims at promoting a slum-free India in five years and would focus on according property rights to slum dwellers, Union Minister for Housing and Poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja, said in New Delhi on Tuesday.

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"The government has announced a new scheme Rajiv Awas Yojana for the slum dwellers and the urban poor in an effort to promote a slum-free India in five years," Selja said in her inaugural address at the Habitat Business Forum meet on urban challenges and solutions.

Twelve countries are taking part in the conclave which is co-sponsored by UN Habitat and China Real Estate Chamber of Commerce.

The union minister said the scheme will focus on according property rights to slum dwellers and the urban poor by the states and union territories.

"It would provide basic amenities such as water supply, sewerage, drainage, internal and approach roads, street lighting and social infrastructure facilities in slums and low income settlements adopting a 'whole city' approach," she said, adding, it would also provide subsidized credit.

Describing urbanisation as "a great historical opportunity", Selja said the energy of urban growth can be harnessed as a "positive force for human development to create sustainable, equitable, and peaceful cities".