Government to start housing projects for labourers
The state Housing department will come up with housing projects in Kolkata and its adjoining urban areas for lodging labourers, who come to the city from other states or from the districts for working in various infrastructural projects.
“We will soon start looking for land for constructing such housing projects for the labourers.
“A company executing its project can book a housing project on contract basis and pay a monthly rent for lodging of the labourers.
“Once its project is completed, it will vacate the housing and then the housing will be provided to another company for similar purpose. Most of the labourers who come for working in various projects stay in ‘jhupris’ on footpaths and after they leave the same is occupied illegally,” Firhad Hakim, state Housing
Minister said, after holding a meeting with senior officials of his department on Wednesday.
Hakim said the Housing department will come up with a new policy in this regard and the department will also speak to the Railways and the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port authority regarding availability of land.
The minister said the government would allow residents of LIG (Low Income Group) and HIG (High Income Group) housing to form a co-operative and buy the housing projects from the state government at a reasonable price.
“The residents of a number of such housing have to pay rent as well as maintenance cost to the department. We will come up with a notification through which we will encourage co-operatives to buy these housing schemes from the government,” Hakim said.
“The Housing Board has decided to take up vertical housing for rehabilitating the residents of dilapidated buildings or hawkers of rickety markets.
“The Housing Board has expert engineers who can come up with such scheme and it will help the Board to earn revenue. Presently, such work is being executed by private organisations,” Hakim said.