State aims to provide add’l 2L houses in urban areas in 5 yrs
Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government aims to provide over 2 lakh houses to beneficiaries in urban areas through the state’s ‘Banglar Bari’ scheme in the next five years.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is concerned about the marginalised people living in urban areas also. Hence, she has directed the construction of about 2.10 lakh houses under the ‘Banglar Bari’ scheme and hand them over to the eligible beneficiaries in the urban areas.
According to the initial plans, the state government has set a target of completing these houses within a span of five years.
State government spends Rs 1.93 lakh for constructing each house in the urban areas while the Central government is supposed to provide Rs 1.5 lakh under the housing scheme. But the Central government has stopped providing funds to the state government. As a result the Mamata Banerjee government has started implementing the scheme on its own. State has a dues of Rs 1,700 crore from the Centre under this project.
State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim recently said in the Assembly that the state government is committed to provide a house to the marginalised people in the urban areas. Around 3.15 houses have already been set up under the state’s housing scheme. More than 2 lakh additional houses will also be set up.
About Rs 9,600 crore has been allotted under the ‘Banglar Bari’ scheme. Under the ‘Banglar Bari’, the state has an overall plan to construct 16 lakh new houses including those in rural areas in the upcoming financial year and a proposal of Rs 9,600 crore has been allocated for the initiative. State government is going to cover an additional 16 lakh eligible families. They will be provided with the first instalment of Rs 60,000 by December this year. Rs 9,600 crore has been allocated for this purpose.
The Mamata Banerjee government is committed to providing the second instalment for those 16 lakh houses based on the progress of the construction of the houses.
To enhance housing support for the underprivileged, the state allocated Rs 14,000 crore under the scheme last year. This initiative aims to provide financial assistance for the construction of homes for the poor and marginalised sections of society.
