New Delhi: Faced with the challenge of urban housing shortage for the poor, government on Saturday said it is taking several steps including nation-wide support to municipalities to build rental homes, amending the archaic Rent Control Act and declaring the sector an industry.
Unveiling the report of the Technical Group on Urban Housing Shortage (2012-17), Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja said the maximum shortage exists for the economically weaker sections and the lower income group whose "need is unable to get translated into demand due to issues of affordability".
Selja said the report, prepared by the Group headed by Professor Amitabh Kundu, points out that the highest urban housing shortage is in states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Rajasthan.
HUPA Secretary Arun Kumar Mishra said that on an average about 27 per cent of the population in urban areas lives in rental accommodation as per the 2011 Census and so the Centre has decided to support states under Rajiv Awas Yojana to go in for rental housing for the poor....
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10:18 PM, Sep 22, 2012
