ABIDe meet on urban poor
Abolition of property tax for houses below 300 sqft, conducting a citywide survey to identify the poor and reserving 25 per cent of land in all new layouts, towards developing housing on a rental or ownership basis for poor families were the topics discussed by the ABIDe with NGOs and social organisations, on Monday.
Suggestions from various quarters of the society were put forth on a draft plan for uplifting the urban poor with a holistic approach. Citing its guiding principles as replacement of practices of involuntary displacement, evictions and demolitions, the draft policy seeks to provide a comprehensive legislation for the protection of the city’s poor. The policy further aims at organising a single interdisiciplinary civic body to address the problems of the slum-dwellers and the homeless in the City.
Social audit of funds
ABIDe Vice-Chairman Ananth Kumar said the organisation will moot a social audit of funds allocated to various civic agencies, towards uplifting the society’s weaker sections. He added that the task force will try to get the developmental funds into a non-lapsable account for the benefit of the poor.
“ABIDe will be intervening on a series of issues in the government policies directed at uplifting the urban poor,” he said.
