From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: The Centrally sponsored Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) for the slum dwellers and the urban poor would be implemented in 250 cities and towns across the country including Shillong and six other towns in Meghalaya.
RAY envisages a ‘slum-free India’, where every slum dweller and urban poor will have access to basic civic and social services and decent shelter. It will bring existing slums within the formal system and enable them to avail the same level of basic amenities as the rest of the town.
Besides Shillong, RAY will be implemented in Tura, Williamnagar, Jowai, Nongpoh, Nongstoin and Resubelpara, State Minister for Urban Affairs Ampareen Lyngdoh, who was here to attend a conference on RAY, said before leaving for Shillong on Thursday.
Redressing the failures of the formal system that lie behind the creation of slums and tackling the shortages of urban land and housing that keeps shelter out of reach of the urban poor will also be part of RAY, she said.
However, Lyngdoh mentioned that the State Government would face problems like paucity of funds and alternative land for settlement to successfully implement RAY in the State. Moreover, the Government also cannot give property rights to the slum dwellers since most of the slum areas are situated on private lands, she added.