Visakhapatnam: With increasing demand for space in and around the city limits, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation is toying with the idea of constructing G+8 structures on the lines of affordable housing programme being implemented by the Chennai Municipal Corporation for more houses for urban poor under the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) programme.
RAY extends financial support to states for creation of affordable housing through public-private partnership (PPP) under the Affordable Housing in Partnership component of the scheme that would be implemented by the urban local bodies.
The scheme is applicable to all slums within a city, whether on lands belonging to government or its undertakings, autonomous bodies created under the Act of Parliament, state government or its undertakings, and Urban Local Bodies.
Now, the GVMC is planning to utilise the funds under RAY with slight modifications for providing more housing to the poor.
The Corporation is waiting for approval from the government to revise guidelines of the scheme and has already initiated efforts such as identifying clear land and other basic infrastructure.
“We have identified around 700-800 acres of government lands within a radius of 13 to 15 km under Vuda limits for taking up the housing programme under RAY. G+8 structures will provide around 300 houses in an acre of land and we are considering such model and are waiting for guidelines from the government. If the programme succeeds, there will be no slums in the city after five years,” said M.V. Satyanarayana, GVMC commissioner.
Officials are also planning to involve contractors who would construct houses on the basis of ‘Development Deal’, where the government need not invest any money and also for speedy completion.
There are also plans to handover the amount of financial assistance under RAY programme, infrastructure development charges and beneficiary contributions to the contractors for comfortable and good-looking flats for the urban poor. The government assistance of Rs 1.50 lakh for each house, infrastructure charges at Rs 62,000 per acre and Rs 25,000-Rs 30,000 per beneficiary will be available as per the plan.
Now, the GVMC is preparing proposals for implementing the scheme.
