Over 17 lakh people live in slums

GHMC proposes norms for layouts in these areas. It also seeks to explore the possibilities of exploring certain land pockets, where possible, for revenue generation.

December 24, 2014 12:38 am | Updated November 18, 2016 04:47 pm IST - HYDERABAD:

Slum dwellers of Patelnagar in Filmnagar are put to a lot of inconvenience these days with vehicular traffic passing through the congested basti as a short cut to reach Mehdipatnam. Photo: Nagara Gopal

Slum dwellers of Patelnagar in Filmnagar are put to a lot of inconvenience these days with vehicular traffic passing through the congested basti as a short cut to reach Mehdipatnam. Photo: Nagara Gopal

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), which is planning to initiate steps towards making Hyderabad a slum-free city, has tabulated the total number of slums in its limits to be 1,468 slums with a population of 17.61 lakh. Of these, 1,131 are notified as slums, while the rest 337 are non-notified.

A note prepared by the civic body on regularisation of encroachment lands in slums stresses the need to re-develop these locations and has proposed in-situ steps with minimum norms for proposed layouts.

Majority on govt. land

A sample survey of 72 slums by the GHMC has shown that 48 of these are located on government lands with an average extent of land in possession of dwellers being less than 60 square yards and in some instances, even less than 20 square yards.

The physical and social infrastructure facilities have been described as poor in condition characterised by dense population, narrow and irregular roads, unsafe buildings and no space for laying drainage and water supply lines.

Citing proposals of giving pattas up to 125 square yards, the GHMC is working on ideas at in-situ redevelopment of slums with eligible households getting a 2BHK house of 500 square feet to 580 square feet with proper roads, drainage, streetlight, playground, park, community centre and schools.

It also seeks to explore the possibilities of exploring certain land pockets, where possible, for revenue generation.

Note of caution

However, the civic body makes it clear that while issuing pattas, slums located on environmentally sensitive locations such as tank bunds, nalas, river beds should not be regularised and these should be rehabilitated elsewhere.

The strategies suggested include in-situ housing in slums where the conditions are poor with no amenities and plots are of the size of less than 60 square yards. Another model for slums located in prime or central areas looks at in-situ housing along with release of land for Public Private Partnership (PPP) development.

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