New housing scheme to make India slum free: Selja

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 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 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The 2010 Commonwealth Games will be a boon for slumdwellers here as both the central and state governments are planning to provide them with better homes ahead of the event, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja said here Saturday. "The Commonwealth Games will act as a boon for poor people.

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 - 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 18th, 2009 PUDUCHERRY - Apart from the earlier proposal to build 1.5 million houses for urban poor, the government will build a million affordable houses for the middle income group, Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja said here Saturday. "Now, we have launched another scheme called Affordable Housing.

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 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 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 29th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Union Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja Monday said the government would develop urban street vendors in the country and "safeguard" their interest. She said urban street vendors would be developed as part of the central government's urban poverty alleviation initiatives.

June 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - If the Manmohan Singh government's ambitious plan for a "slum free" India, as announced by President Pratibha Patil in parliament Thursday, becomes a reality some 62 million-plus people living in the country's urban shanties will have a home of their own. Called the Rajiv Awas Yojana, the special housing scheme for the urban poor and slum dwellers will be on the lines of Indira Awas Yojana for the rural areas.

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.

May 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India needs to attract more foreign tourists, whose number has dipped after the Mumbai terror attack and due to economic depression, Tourism Minister Kumari Selja said Saturday. "The tourism sector has a lot of challenges apart from attracting foreign tourists to India.

January 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government will soon come up with a model regulatory act for the real estate sector, Minister of State for Poverty Alleviation and Affordable Housing Kumari Selja said here Friday. 'We will soon come up with a model regulatory act for states to follow.

January 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - In order to make housing affordable for the weaker sections of society, the government is thinking of reserving 20 percent of space in housing projects for them. Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja, Monday said her ministry will ask state governments to reserve developed land for the economically weaker sections in various housing projects.