Even as the Maharashtra Government is celebrating 2009 as the Year of Housing for All,1,220 families living in slums have reason to raise a toast. For,starting June,families from Sector 22 in Nigdi will have a dignified existence. Each family will be housed in a 270-square-foot flat amidst green surroundings. They will have access to basic amenities and will have adequate parking space,too. Starting this week,500 families will be handed over keys to their flats and a fortnight later,another 720 families will get their dream house. The flats,which are actually worth over Rs 5 lakh each in an area where the going rate is Rs 2000 per sq-foot,are available for these families for Rs 35,000. Even if the 720 families are not in a position to pay a single paise to pay for the flat,they need not worry. The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation will help the families in getting bank loans at a low interest. The first project is over. We will start distributing flats to the slum-dwellers living in Sector 22,Nigdi,this week onwards, said Municipal Commissioner Asheesh Sharma. Claiming that PCMC was the first civic body in the state to complete the project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM),Sharma vouched for the quality of the flats. The flats are of top quality. They are open for scrutiny. During construction,third party inspection was done by state government experts,MHADA officials and also by the quality inspection firm of the civic body, Sharma said. The PCMC had floated global tenders before picking the builders for the job. In fact,the slum-dwellers will have little to worry for at least five years after allocation of the flats. This is because the construction company will look after maintenance for five years. The families that will start moving into their houses this week onwards,are basically from the same area. A lucky draw will be held after which the flats will be allocated to slum-dwellers. Assistant municipal commissioner Sudhir Joshi,who heads the slum rehabilitation department,said that under BSUP (Basic Services for Urban Poor) the civic body is constructing as many as 18,032 flats for 35,000 slum families (1.20 lakh people). People from different parts of Pimpri-Chinchwad will be rehabilitated there. The total cost of the project is Rs 591 crore. Of that,the central governments is contributing 50 per cent,30 per cent is coming from the state government,10 per cent each from PCMC and the beneficiary. In effect,it means the PCMCs share will be around Rs 60 crore, he said. In Sector 22,said Joshi,a maximum of 11,078 flats will be constructed. Slum-dwellers from Ajanthanagar,Vitthalnagar,Vetalnagar,Udyognagar and Milindnagar will be resettled there. Those who lost their homes due to road-widening projects and those living in flood zones will also be provided the flats,he said. The builders have been given packages of a maximum three projects. Nobody has any monopoly. The B G Shirke Construction company will construct a maximum of 5,900 flats, he said. Joshi said that in seven-floor buildings,elevators,generator back-ups and special parking space will be provided. In four-storied buildings,there will be no elevators but there is ample parking space around the buildings. Currently societies are being formed. Each society will have at least 80 flats, Sharma said,adding that the project is the first of its kind to be set up in less than one year. District Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar will hand over the keys to flat owners.
