Affordable housing: BMC begins process for Shanti Nagar Awaas Yojana

Bhubaneswar: For smooth implementation of the much sought-after Shanti Nagar Awaas Yojana at Shantipalli Slum in Satya Nagar here, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday started collecting forms at Saheed Nagar Kalyan Mandap, with options for the slum residents either to go to transit houses or take rented accommodation.

The step was necessitated as people need to vacate the site so that the in-situ slum redevelopment would take a perfect shape as per the plan and within the stipulated time limit. The scheme will house 1,300 families under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category.

The collection of forms will continue till October 12 through four counters and people coming under the scheme would either opt for Transit Homes at Niladri Vihar or going for rented accommodation till the completion of the project.

While the Transit Homes at Niladri Vihar is a facility developed by the civic authorities, those interested to opt for rented accommodation will get Rs 2,000 per month till shifting to Shanti Nagar Awaas Yojana.

The scheme is part of the Housing for All Policy-2015 of the state government, which aims to provide affordable housing to all the urban poor and make the cities free from slums. The HFAP-2015 has seven different models to be followed and the Shanti Nagar Awas Yojana will be as per the Model No. IV of the HFAP-2015.

Facilities
The families coming under the scheme at Shanti Nagar will have neighbourhood shopping area, community centre, public library, livelihood development centre, Anganwadi and there will be facilities for internal roads, sewerage treatment plan and drainage system.

On December 22 last year, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) published the tender, inviting proposals from private real-estate players to develop the affordable housing units in the heart of the city at Satya Nagar under the Smart District area.

Shanti Nagar Awaas Yojana would be developed over 10 acres. The selected private developer would develop the houses for EWS in a land of 6.5 acres and would get 3.5 acres to develop it according to its own plan so that he/she can sell them for high-end residential and commercial complexes and recover the project cost.

The new project, located at Bhubaneswar Town Centre District or the Smart District, has been envisioned under the Smart City Proposal under the Area Based Development. The proposed location is around 3.2 km from the city railway station, 6.5 km from the Biju Patnaik International Airport and has a tremendous potential for real-estate development.

Maintenance of the units
The developer will start a common fund by donating 2 per cent of the total cost of the slum rehabilitation project; hence the maintenance of the 1,300 houses and their infrastructure would be a smooth process in future.