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Journalism of Courage
A pet project of the Prime Minister conceived to create ‘‘slumless cities’’ — VAMBAY (Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana) — today received a fillip when the Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation Ministry hiked the subsidy given to the states for the project from 50 to 75 per cent of the total fund allocation. This has apparently been done with an eye on the upcoming polls.
Since 2002, Rs 465.26 crore has been released to the various states for the project from the Centre.
Now, the states have to raise just 25 per cent of the funds earmarked to build eco-friendly low-cost houses for the urban poor. These houses are made available to the people living in slums through loans provided by the Central government-owned Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO).
For the seven north-eastern states, the Centre is even prepared to dole out 90 per cent of the VAMBAY funds leaving only 10 per cent for the states to raise. For UTs like Chandigarh, the Centre will give 100 per cent and they will require no legislation.
Following a Parliament Consultative Committee meeting today, the Union Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation Minister Bandaru Dattatreya announced that by ‘‘accepting the state governments’ demand and keeping the scheme’s popularity in mind, we have decided to change the funding pattern of VAMBAY to 75:25 between the Centre and the state.’’
The suggestion for an increase in the Centre’s contribution had come during the last Housing Ministers’ conference in Delhi. Justifying the Centre’s decision, Dattatreya said, ‘‘This is to help the states implement the scheme faster and remove bottlenecks. Besides, the PM is very keen on seeing our cities freed of slums.’’
