Title - Centre to relocate slum dwellers on Railways land

New Delhi : Housing ministry to construct multi-storey building for them...
 In a bid to relocate slum dwellers staying near railway tracks, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) has kick started its proposal by constituting a task force to prepare a detailed project report.The HUPA, in consultation with the Railway Ministry, has identified two major illegal slums existing close to railway tracks, namely Zakhira and Choona Mandi, both in Delhi. As per the proposal, HUPA will construct multi-storey housing complex in nearby vacant railway land to relocate them.This will be a pilot project and based on its experiences the model will be implemented in other cities, an official in the HUPA told Deccan Herald.A joint task force comprising officials from the Railways and the HUPA has been set up to work out the project details, including spot survey, relaxation of rules pertaining to density norms, floor area ratio, and height restrictions, the official added . As the government’s earlier attempts failed, it was decided to relocate them within a 1 km radius from their present dwellings. Land will be provided by the Railways, while houses will be constructed by the HUPA.The proposal is tipped to be a win-win situation as the Railways will reclaim its land from encroachers, while the HUPA can meet its goal of providing proper housing to the urban poor, the official said.

The plan is to not only remove these hutments close to the railway tracks, but also to improve the living conditions of the inhabitants. As past experience showed that whenever authorities tried to shift these slum dwellers, many refused to move out as they were apprehensive about the new location not suiting their occupational demands.

At present, around 981 hectares of Railway land is under encroachment mainly by illegal slum dwellers in the country. On financing the scheme, the HUPA is likely to bear 50 per cent of the cost, while the Railways will pay 25 per cent and the rest will be borne by the allottees, sources said.