Author: TNN
Publication: The Times of India
Date: March 27, 2008
URL: Housing projects quota for minorities
If the Sachar Committee recommendations are
the Opposition's trump card against the ruling CPM's apathy towards minorities
in the coming polls, the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government isn't giving them
a walkover.
Fifty per cent of all upcoming KMDA housing
projects for the lower income group and economically weaker sections will
be reserved for minorities, state urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya
said on Wednesday.
This is apart from the CM's promise of a separate
condominium for the minorities at Rajarhat. And if things go according to
plan, as many as 407 poor families from this community will get a roof over
their heads in 2008-09.
"We have already allotted Rs 8 crore
in the KMDA budget exclusively for the uplift of minorities and arrange for
their housing. The government will increase the allocation if necessary,"
the minister said, harping on minority welfare as one of the government's
priorities.
The KMDA has set a target of setting up 540
flats for the lower income group and 275 dwelling units for the economically
weaker sections this year. The government also has plans to upgrade city bustees
on a public-private partnership basis.
The West Bengal Housing Board and the Housing
Infrastructure Development Corporation are likely to come up with similar
reservations for minorities.
HIDCO may also reserve a portion of the upcoming
12,000 dwelling units measuring 400 square feet each in a phased manner over
a period of three years. And, this is not all. All government departments
have been asked to allocate a part of their budgetary allocation for minorities.
