Housing deficit cannot be addressed by budgetary support: Kumari Selja

NEW DELHI - Union Minister of Tourism and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja on Monday said that the housing deficit cannot be addressed only be means of budgetary support or government programmes.

Speaking on the occasion of the World Habitat Day 2010, she said: There is need for credit enhancement through appropriate fiscal, legal and institutional mechanisms, including intermediation of public and private housing agencies to ensure the flow of capital to realize vision of Slum Free India.

Referring to the theme of World Habitat Day for this year ‘Better City Better Life’, Selja said the a strategy is required which converts the housing shortage into a market opportunity and mobilizes private investment.

She said private have participated in higher income housing in a big way for reasons of availability of affordable institutional finance to these income segments from banks and other financial institutions.

She further said the proposed Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) is a natural alignment to a global recognition that ownership of property is the best investment in democracy.

” RAY would create an enabling environment that encourages States to tackle the problem of slums in a definitive way. This would be achieved by bringing existing slums within the formal system and enabling them to avail of the same amenities as the rest of the city,” she added.

Selja said for considerations of social and economic growth, it is necessary to break away from the past trends and practices.

“The time has come to take decisive action for inclusive urban development that not only acknowledges the presence of the poor in cities, but also recognizes their contributions as essential to the city’s functioning,’ she said.

“We would be able to redress the fundamental reasons for inequity the ties them down to poverty,” she added. (ANI)