ULCRA abolition Bill to be tabled on March 22

VADODARA, Feb 7: A Bill seeking the abolition of the Urban Land Ceiling Regulation Act would be tabled on March 22, during the budget ses...

VADODARA, Feb 7: A Bill seeking the abolition of the Urban Land Ceiling Regulation Act would be tabled on March 22, during the budget session of the Lok Sabha, Union Minister for Urban Development Ram Jethmalani said at the inaugural session of the BuildArch exhibition-cum-seminar here on Sunday.

8220;The agenda of providing housing for all can be fulfilled if State governments take the initiative to adopt practical policies8221;, he said. 8220;The repeal of the ULCRA has allowed the Centre to identify 2.1 lakh acres of frozen land that can be used to construct houses. This will also reduce the slums in various States8221;.

Jethmalani said the country was already short of 33 million housing units. 8220;But though there is an ample Central budget for rural housing, there is very little allocated for urban housing. So there8217;s no option but to seek the cooperation of private parties8221;.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Urban Development Kaushik Patel announced, 8220;The Vajpayee Nagar Yojana announced by the State government last month will be translated into reality with financial aid from the HUDCO at very low interest.

8220;It is the State8217;s priority to provide housing for one and all; the decision on implementing it will be taken in the forthcoming Assembly session8221;.

Patel, however, warned that the implementation would be impeded by the fact that several Nagarpalikas and Mahanagarpalikas8217; income through octroi and property taxes was not up to the mark. Jethmalani, moreover, said that the Centre aimed to be 8220;the facilitator, rather than the provider8221; in the implementation of these policies.

8220;If State government abolish the ULCRA, it will allow them to clear slums from the suburban areas of the cities8221;, the Union minister said. 8220;Moreover, a fillip to the the housing industry will also promote 289 related industries8221;.

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Jethmalani urged the State governments to emulate South Asian countries, which had pulled out of recession by concentrating on housing.