DY. PRIME MINISTER INAUGURATES
HOUSING MINISTERS CONFERENCE
HOUSING
CAN BE AN ENGINE OF GROWTH – ADVANI
The Deputy Prime
Minister Shri L.K. Advani has called for concerted efforts to
achieve the objective of Housing for All by the year 2010. Inaugurating
the State Housing Ministers Conference here today, Shri Advani
said this objective can not be achieved with the efforts of the
Government or public sector agencies alone. There is considerable
scope for large scale public private sector partnerships in the
housing sector specially for economically weaker sections, he
added.
The Deputy Prime
Minister said that the housing sector has the potential to act
as the engine of growth because of its interlinkages with many
sectors and its contribution to economy. Shri Advani said the
Government has accorded considerable priority to the housing sector
and during the past few years several budgetary measures have
been introduced to improve investments in housing activities through
fiscal incentives and regulatory reforms announced for various
stake holders namely borrowers, investors, lending institutions
and construction agencies. He emphasized that a collective resolve
was needed to fulfill the task of transforming India into a developed
nation by 2020. Shri Advani expressed the hope that the conference
will discuss various issues related to housing sector as well
as shortcomings so that shelter for all does not remain a mere
slogan and is translated into reality.
Earlier, in his presidential
address, Minister of State for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation
(Independent Charge) Shri Bandaru Dattatraya said that the national
agenda for governance has identified housing for all as a priority
area, and the government has introduced a number of schemes and
incentives for the housing sector. Referring to the need for implementing
urban reforms Shri Dattatraya said that Urban Land Ceiling and
Regulation Act was repealed to promote development and increase
the supply of urban land. He hoped that the state governments
will also repeal the Act. Shri Dattatraya informed that since
1998-99 to date HUDCO has sanctioned 47.55 lakh dwelling units
in urban areas. Loans for 27.67 lakh dwelling units have been
sanctioned in rural areas during this period, he added.
Welcoming the delegates,
Shri L.M. Mehta, Secretary, Department of Urban Employment and
Poverty Alleviation informed that so far 8 states have signed
a memorandum of understanding with Government of India regarding
Urban Reforms Incentive Fund. He hoped that other states will
soon follow suit so that the first generation reforms are complete.
The one day Conference
of State Housing Ministers has been called to discuss various
housing sector issues and related problems.
