Government dreams slum-free India with scheme for 62 mn people (Lead)

October 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Tourism Kumari Selja today said only an inclusive city can be a sustainable and we have to work towards an urban India where we would address developmental disparities in a comprehensive and holistic manner. Delivering the World Habitat Day (WHD) address here, she said the indicator of livable cities is good infrastructure, clean environment, a good quality of life and vibrant economic base for all its citizens.

September 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Hundreds of the slum dwellers, residing on the banks of Yamuna River, are suffering with the river crossing the danger level following incessant rains in the national capital. A flood alert was issued Saturday after water levels of Yamuna reached 204.55 meters.

September 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India has a whopping 62 million slumdwellers but it aims to be free of shanties through a slew of schemes such as earmarking of 20 percent of developed land in all housing projects for this category, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja said here Saturday. "When our government first came to power in 2004, we had set out as our priority to cater to the needs of the urban poor.

September 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India is committed to providing affordable housing to the urban poor despite problems in acquiring land and getting money, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja said here Thursday. The government will provide its full cooperation and support to encourage, guide and strengthen the efforts to make affordable housing for all a reality, Selja said after inaugurating a conference on affordable housing for the urban poor.

August 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Delhi government is all set to allot around 10,000 low-cost houses to the poor and to make the national capital a slum-free city within the next three to four years, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said Saturday. "The vulnerable families would become proud owners of their houses with a respectable address in well-developed colonies," she announced at the Independence Day function at Ambedkar Stadium here.

August 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday announced a series of new schemes for women and for the housing, energy and education sectors. "Our government will make sustained efforts for social and economic empowerment of women.

July 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Housing and Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja today informed the Lok Sabha that the government is planning to launch a new housing scheme for slum dwellers and urban poor since the scheme is aimed at providing subsidy up to five per cent on a loan of Rs one lakh availed by the poor. "Government proposes to launch 'Rajiv Awas Yojana' in the country for slum dwellers and urban poor.

July 8th, 2009 RAIPUR - Chhattisgarh's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government Wednesday launched a food security scheme to provide rice at Rs.2 and Re.1 a kilogram and free salt to 3.7 million families. The new scheme has replaced the Chief Minister's Food Assistance Scheme under which rice was supplied at Rs.3 a kilogram.

July 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja said on Tuesday that sustainable development needs to be inclusive and different from mere economic development of the past, and its benefits must last well into the next generation, and beyond. Delivering the inaugural address at the launch of Habitat Business Forum in New Delhi, the minister emphasised the role of private sector in contributing towards this cause has to be recognized and promoted on a large scale.

July 6th, 2009 BANGALORE - Bangalores urban poor, who reside mostly in slums, have hailed Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjees budget as pro-poor. Firstly, I appreciate Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for presenting a pro-poor budget with several sops for urban poor, Isaac Arul Selva (38), a slum dweller, told IANS.

July 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's millions of urban poor have reason to cheer. A new housing scheme, Rajiv Awas Yojana, was announced Wednesday promising to improve their lives and aiming to make the country "slum free" in the next five years.

July 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Minister for Tourism and Housing Kumari Selja on Wednesday said that the Government has sanctioned over 1.5 million houses for the poor people across the country. Kumari Selja, releasing her ministry's 100-day agenda, announced that the Government is likely to develop a model legal framework to consider property rights to the urban slum dwellers.

June 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Manmohan Singh government will launch a special housing scheme for the urban poor aiming to "create a slum free India" in five years, President Pratibha Patil said Thursday. Called the Rajiv Awas Yojana, the scheme for the urban poor and slum dwellers is on the lines of the Indira Awas Yojana being implemented in the rural areas.

June 1st, 2009 RAIPUR - The Chhattisgarh government Monday announced that it will provide free electricity to farmers using irrigation pumps under five horse power capacity. The scheme, which will cost the state exchequer an estimated Rs.150 crore annually, will come into effect from Aug 15 this year, an official statement said.

April 7th, 2009 BANGALORE - A technology revolution of a different kind is quietly under way in India's IT hub, where slum children log into computers to bridge the digital divide that separates them from the privileged few. Around 15 children huddle into a dingy classroom every evening at the Sudharshan Layout slum to learn computer programmes on three desktops and two laptops, all donated.