Slow progress in slum rehabilitation in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Only close to 43% of the houses approved for slum dwellers in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) since 2005 have been completed and handed over to the beneficiaries, according to a written response provided by the Housing Minister to the Legislative Assembly. 

The data showed that of the 59,429 houses approved under various schemes, the Karnataka Slum Development Authority has handed over 25,961 houses to the beneficiaries and another 7,313 of them are nearing completion. 

The board handed over all the 19,791 houses approved under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) - Scheme of Basic Service for Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme across 72 slums in the city. Under the Rajiv Awas Yojana, 6,763 houses were approved to be provided at 27 slums in the city and 6,170 of them have been handed over to the eligible. However, though 32,875 houses across 184 slums were announced under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) that was launched in 2015, the department is still in the final stages of completion of 7,313 houses. 

In a response to a question raised by Jayanagar MLA C K Ramamurthy, Housing and Minority Welfare Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan said that the Karnataka Slum Development Board had conducted a door-to-door survey to identify beneficiaries for the scheme. 

"It is the board’s responsibility to provide rehabilitation facilities to slum dwellers. Hence, the board has conducted a door-to-door survey and identified the slum dwellers living in huts and kutcha houses. They are being provided houses under the various schemes,” the response said, adding that people cannot apply for any of the schemes voluntarily. 

There are close to 435 slums in Bengaluru, of which 410 have been declared.