GOVERNMENT TO IDENTIFY
LANDLESS RURAL BPL HOUSEHOLDS FOR PROVIDING HOUSES: SHANTA KUMAR
INDUSTRIALISTS
URGED TO BUILD HOUSES FOR RURAL POOR
Landless households
from below poverty line families in rural areas are to be identified
for allotment of land on priority basis for provision of housing.
This was disclosed by the Rural Development Minister Shri Shanta
Kumar while inaugurating a National Workshop on Rural Housing
and Habitat here today. He said, landless people have been unfortunately
left out of the rural housing scheme. The Minister said, according
to the 1991 census, over 34 lakh households are without shelter
and most of them are also landless. He said the government will
provide funds for the construction of houses after the identification
of such landless BPL households is complete.
Shri Shanta Kumar
pointed out that besides the 34 lakh shelterless another one crore
households are living in unserviceable kutcha houses. Taking into
consideration the growth of population the total requirement of
dwelling units by the year 2002 is estimated to be around 24.47
million. The Minister said, a problem of this magnitude cannot
be met by the government alone. He appealed to the industrialists
to come forward to contribute in this effort. He said, industrialists
should build houses for the poor in those areas where they operate.
The Minister emphasized
on the need to promote region specific and cost effective materials
and technologies particularly based on agro-industrial wastes
and by-products. He said, the resources including building material
and finances being limited, there is utmost need for the best
possible use of those resources through adoption of appropriate
technology. He said, no housing is complete without habitat development.
What is needed is to perceive housing in overall perspective of
sustainable surroundings. Shri Shanta Kumar said, provision of
proper sanitation in rural areas is also another priority area
which would contribute to personal hygiene and thereby overall
health.
Delivering the keynote
address, the Rural Development Secretary Shri M. Shankar said
that given the mammoth gap in rural housing, any single sector
alone cannot meet the challenge. He said all the sectors including
the government, private sector and the NGOs must play a complimentary
role to tackle this problem. He said, apart from building dwelling
units, we need to take a holistic view and develop the surrounding
areas also. Shri Shankar expressed his apprehension that waste
disposal is going to emerge as a problem in rural areas also as
the quantity of solid waste rises.
The workshop has
been organised by the Ministry of Rural Development in collaboration
with the Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural
Technology (CAPART) to focus on the issues facing the rural housing
sector. Senior officials and NGOs from several states and representatives
from Financial Institutions are participating in the two day workshop.
