Bangalore: BJP woos slum-dwellers ahead of BBMP polls
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
BANGALORE, MAY 20: Buoyed by winning three of the four Lok Sabha constituencies in and around Bangalore, Karnataka’s ruling BJP has decided to woo the state capital’s slum-dwellers in a big way by announcing plans to issue ownership rights as many as 9,237 poor slum-dwellers on June 3.
If the massive `Daridra Narayana’ rally of slum-dwellers organised by the JD(S) under the directions of former prime minister and party supremo H D Deve Gowda at the Bangalore Palace Grounds during the Congress-JD(S) coalition rule post-2004 assembly polls, which helped the party to win the Chamarajpet assembly seat vacated by former chief minister S M Krishna in the by-election, the BJP has christened its massive programme for distribution of ownership rights to slum-dwellers as `Nemmadi Narayana.’
Briefing reporters after a meeting with Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioner Dr S Subramanya and Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) commissioner Siddaiah on Wednesday, Transport minister R Ashok, who is in-charge minister for the city, said the B S Yeddyurappa government was keen on improving the lot of the poor.
`Our objective is to ensure that slum-dwellers become owners of the dwelling units located in all government lands in which they had been residing since the last several years,’’he said, adding that the function would be held in Bangalore Palace grounds.
The minister sought to explain that the Yeddyurappa regime did not believe in making empty promises by organising Daridra Narayana (wretched poor) rally and doing nothing after raising hopes of the poor.
"If our Nemmadi Narayana (happy poor) is able to improve the living standards of the slum-dwellers, we are happy. Our programme is not aimed at winning elections because people have already blessed the party in the assembly and just concluded lok sabha polls,’’ Ashok said.
The government had received a large number of applications from the poor slum-dwellers residing in government properties since the last two to three decades and the localities had been classified as slums.
The beneficiaries, who had already been identified and granted identity cards, would be eligible for the ownership rights, which would help families to avail bank loans, the minister said.
While BBMP would grant sale deeds to 4,800 households residing in slums, the BDA would hand over sale deeds and title deeds to 4437 households. BBMP would pay the registration fee of dwelling plots of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes and utilise its budgetary funds earmarked for the welfare of SC/STs for the registration of sites, he said.
In the second phase, another 5,000 poor households residing in slums over the years would be issued ownership rights.
The BBMP officials had conducted a survey of poor slum-dwellers residing in government lands in the city and issued identification cards. There will not be any fresh survey to identify the beneficiaries as the process had been done in the past by the previous government, Ashok said.
As many as 65 houses constructed for the poor households at Sampaginagara in the city would also be handed over to eligible beneficiaries on June 3.
Ownership rights would not be given to poor households residing on private lands, parks, school premises and grounds as it would cost around Rs 800 crore for purchasing the private properties, he explained adding, only those residing in government lands and Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) or Karnataka Slum Development Board (KSDB) are eligible to get ownership rights.
Asked about the damage to properties in the city on account of rains on Tuesday, he said seven trees were uprooted and officials had been instructed to remove those trees. A meeting of BBMP officials has been convened on May 23 to chalk out an action plan for tackle rain-related problems in the city, he added.