The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) is set to continue its efforts to improve the living conditions of the urban poor by resuming work on the slum rehabilitation housing project at Mahisakhal slum in the Badagada area.
The housing project, which began in 2013 under the erstwhile Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), involves the construction of a G+4 storied building designed to provide better housing for slum dwellers. The overall plan includes development of 19 blocks comprising approximately 700 dwelling units.
The BDA while executing the project completed the work on 15 blocks and also allotted the homes to the selected beneficiaries. However, it could not go with the remaining four blocks first due to land issues and later due to funds crunch.
This has deprived a number of slum of homes. At present, many of them have erected temporary houses near the project site and continue to live in an unhygienic environment. The matter was raised at a high-level meeting chaired by chief secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena last October wherein officials discussed about a solution to provide houses to the slum dwellers who have been left out.
Following the meeting, in March, the BDA released a tender to find an agency to carry out the construction of the four remaining blocks of the housing project. A budget of Rs 20 crore has been allocated to complete this phase. Officials said the initiative is a significant step towards enhancing the quality of life for those living in slums by providing them with safe and adequate housing. They said this project reflects the BDA’s ongoing efforts to address the challenges faced by the urban poor in Bhubaneswar.
The decision of the BDA to go ahead with the project has brought smiles to the faces of the slum dwellers who were demanding that the houses should be built at the same site and they do not want to relocate from the area. The BDA sometime back gave the slum dwellers the option to relocate to some other rehabilitation project site but many of the beneficiaries disagreed since they have been living in this area for quite a long time. “Now their demand is fulfilled which is a welcome step,” slum dweller Pratap Sahu said.