The State government is formulating a scheme that will facilitate joint projects between municipal corporations or municipalities and adjacent panchayats in order to address housing shortage, Minister for Local Self-Government K.T. Jaleel has said.
He was inaugurating a function organised by the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation on Thursday to hand over the keys to 72 flats that have been constructed under the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) for the residents of Karimadom colony here.
Mr. Jaleel said several people faced difficulties in finding proper accommodation in cities and towns, even while possessing land in nearby rural areas. The government has held talks with the Union Ministry of Urban Development, which has sought the lists of those who required financial assistance in this regard. It has been proposed to permit joint projects with municipal corporations or municipalities bearing the cost for establishing houses in adjacent panchayats. He said dearth of vacant spaces in urban areas had created difficulties in implementing housing projects in such areas.
The flats have been constructed by HLL Lifecare Ltd. with the Kudumbasree Mission being the nodal agency of the project, which was undertaken at a cost of Rs. 6.3 crore within seven months. The flats, each having floor area of 350 sq.m., have been spread over six blocks. “The endeavour has provided a glimpse of the huge potential of Kudumbasree workers. Their achievement must be seen in the light of the inordinate delay on the part of another government agency in implementing a housing project, under the Basic Service for the Poor (BSUP) project, close by,” he said.
"Address waste management"
Speaking on the occasion, V.S. Sivakumar, MLA, called for measures to address the longstanding problem relating to waste management in the city. Effective steps were necessary to find a solution to the issue of stray dog menace.Thiruvananthapuram Mayor V.K. Prasanth presided over the function. Corporation standing committee chairpersons Simi Jyothish, Vanchiyoor P. Babu, R. Geetha Gopal, K. Sreekumar, Saheera Beegum, R. Satheesh Kumar, S. Unnikrishnan and secretary M. Nizarudeen were present.
