The Silk City is all set to be slum-free

Excerpts from news report by Sunil Patnaik from The Telegraph

           

BERHAMPUR: The slum dwellers residing in as many as 29 slums, located under the jurisdiction of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation, will be rehabilitated in new pucca buildings in five years, said the Integrated Housing for Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) and the Rajiv Awas Yojana launched by the Central government. The Silk City is all set to be slum-free in phases within the stipulated time mentioned by the Centre. “As many as 29 slums located under the jurisdiction of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation have been earmarked and will be demolished in phases. The slum dwellers will be rehabilitated in new pucca buildings to be built within five years,” said Bhim Manseth, city’s municipal commissioner. The Berhampur Municipal Corporation has already invited tender to build new buildings at the five slum areas he said. While the Union government is supposed to provide with the 90 per cent of the total cost, the state government would bear the rest of the cost under the IHSDP. In another development, a sum of Rs 31 crore has already been pumped in for the project under the IHSDP. The corporation has received a sum of Rs 11.60 crore in the first phase. Implementation of the Rajiv Awas Yojana, which is on the pipeline, is expected to further boost the project, sources said. “We have initiated process to provide pucca houses to the slum dwellers. Rs 1.50 lakh will be provided to each of the families for the construction of 1,202 houses. The colonies earmarked for the rehabilitation will be equipped with the facilities like drinking water, electricity, macadamised roads and drains,” said the mayor. “After the construction of the buildings for the dwellers of 24 slum areas, we will earmark other slum areas and rehabilitate the families in new buildings to be constructed under the Rajiv Awas Yojana,” he said.

Source: The Telegraph