New Delhi:
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today called for building six crore ‘pucca’ houses for poor in the country by 2022, and doled out Rs 22,407 crore for housing and urban development sector for this fiscal year.
Listing out many visions to be achieved by the year 2022, which is the 75th year of India’s independence, Jaitley said the visions for ‘Team India’, led by states and guided by the Centre, should include “a roof for each family in India.”
“The call given for ‘Housing for all’ by 2022 would require Team India to complete 2 crore houses in urban areas and 4 crore houses in rural areas,” he said.
Each house in the country should have basic facilities of 24-hour power supply, clean drinking water, a toilet and connection of road, the finance minister added.
Jaitley said these visions would have to be achieved so that India becomes a prosperous country and a responsible global power.
The policy of housing for all by 2022 has been prepared by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA). Recently the policy came up for the approval of the Cabinet but was deferred.
The budgetary allocation for Urban Development Ministry has been increased to Rs 16,832 in 2015-16 as against the revised estimate of Rs 11,013 in 2014-15.
For the HUPA, the budgetary allocation has been hiked from Rs 3400 cr in 2014-15 to Rs 5634.47 cr in the 2015-16 fiscal.
